


Breath of Time

by daybreakfiction



Category: NU'EST, Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-11-18 09:16:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11288268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daybreakfiction/pseuds/daybreakfiction
Summary: In which Minhyun accidentally stumbles across a family heirloom and breaks it, causing him to go back in time.(The sequel, "Silver Linings", is now out!")





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i dunno what i'm doing but i am doing it!!! welcome to my first time travel fic. wish me luck. everyone's gonna seem a bit ooc but things will all tie together in the end. ironically, minhyun's not a prince in this one. enjoy! and also fyi this hasn't been beta-ed so yeah
> 
> and i tend to rely heavily on dialogue so i apologize for that in advance;;

"Minhyun, don't forget we have to do spring cleaning tomorrow."  

Minhyun blinked as he looked up and faced his older brother, Jisung. The older man was calmly sipping his coffee, reading the morning newspaper. 

"You're going to be home tomorrow, hyung? I thought the company wanted you to work this weekend too." Minhyun replied as he poked around at his food. He didn't have much of an appetite again.  

"I decided to take a day off. The attic is getting full of stuff again since Minki moved in with us and I don't want it to clutter. Besides, maybe we can sell some old junk we have up there." Jisung smiled and set down his newspaper. 

"Yah, Minki! Get up for breakfast or else you'll be late for school. Seonho should be here any minute." 

A loud bang was heard from across the hall, in the guest room. Choi Minki was Minhyun and Jisung's younger cousin who had moved in a few months ago due to his parents divorce. Rather than move in with his mother or father, he decided to move in with his cousins so that he could finish high school in peace.  

"He's going to be late again." Minhyun sighed and glanced at his phone. It was 7:23 and that meant Minki only had seven minutes to get ready.  

"It's amazing how he gets perfect grades and yet he's late and skips class at least once a week. I wish I was that smart when I was in high school." Jisung just chuckled and stood up from the table.  

"I'll be home late again tonight. Just make dinner for yourself and Minki."  

Minhyun waved as he watched his brother leave for work. In a way, Minhyun was jealous of Jisung. His brother had an actual career and was somehow able to make enough money for the them to afford a decent apartment.  

Minhyun had his own job, of course. However, tutoring high school students wasn't exactly the best source of income. Minhyun only made enough money to cover his college tuition.  

"Is Seonho here yet?" Minki said as he walked into the kitchen. Minhyun glanced at his cousin and was surprised to see him ready for school even though he just woke up a few minutes ago. 

"Not yet, but maybe you should meet him at the door so that he doesn't barge through to look for me." 

Yoo Seonho was one of Minki's high school classmates that was also one of Minhyun's pupils. He was a smart kid, but his English was lacking. Somehow, Minhyun became his tutor and the high school student had become attached to him ever since.  

"I don't understand his obsession with you. It's like he's a lovesick puppy." Minki said as he grabbed a piece of toast and stuffed it into his mouth. 

"Tomorrow is spring cleaning day. Don't make any other plans." Minhyun said as he started to finish his breakfast. 

"Alright. Summer cleaning. Make other plans. Gotcha." Minki just smiled, causing Minhyun to roll his eyes.  

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Minhyun tried not to sigh out loud. He walked over to the front door and opened it slowly, not bothering to check who it was.  

"Minhyun hyung! Good morning!" Seonho said excitedly as he walked into the apartment. The student looked like he had eaten a full meal and was ready for school.  

"Good morning to you too, Seonho. Come on now, Minki. Time for you to get to school." Minhyun called out, forcing his younger cousin to leave the kitchen.  

"See you later at tutoring, hyung!" Seongho waved as he linked his arms with Minki, leaving the apartment as quickly as he walked in.  

Minhyun glanced at the clock and groaned. Now it was time for him to go to school. He quickly grabbed his backpack from his room and left the apartment, locking the door behind him. 

X 

When Minhyun got to his first class of the day, he immediately spotted his best friend, Daniel, sitting near the front of the class. He quietly made his way over to Daniel and took a seat in the vacant spot next to him. 

"So, Aron hyung wants to know if you can come to the blind date tomorrow. If not, it's okay though. We just needed someone to fill in Jinyoung's empty spot since Jihoon found out he was going." Daniel grinned and twirled his pen in his hand. The professor was running late which meant they still had free time to talk. 

"Tell your brother I'm sorry, but I can't this time. Jisung hyung said I have to help out with spring cleaning tomorrow." Minhyun just smiled apologetically at Daniel who shrugged in reply. 

"Don't worry about it. Hopefully you find my old PlayStation controller when you do your spring cleaning."  

Minhyun laughed and gently punched Daniel's shoulder. A few years ago, Daniel brought his PlayStation over to Minhyun's apartment and somehow had lost one of his controller. Minhyun had no idea where it went.  

Before Minhyun had the chance to reply, their professor had walked into the class. Minhyun opened his textbook and notebook, ready to take notes. Even though everyone thought he was just naturally smart, he had to spend hours and hours studying at night just to make sure he got high grades.  

X 

Minhyun's day went by just as it normally did. After all of his classes, he met Seonho at the library and helped him with his English homework. The high school student was slowly improving after the months of tutoring and Minhyun was glad he was able to help. Then after his tutoring session with Seonho, Minhyun made sure to pick up some food for dinner. Minki would eat whatever Minhyun would bring home, so dinner wasn't a big fuss.  

Minhyun and Minki quietly ate dinner together. They talked about the few interesting things that had happened that day. After dinner, they both cleaned their plates and went back to their rooms. They both had no classes the following day, but spring cleaning was a big deal to Jisung, so they knew they had to sleep early to get enough rest.  

X 

"Alright kids! Rise and shine. Get out of bed and open all the windows." Jisung called out as he knocked on Minhyun's door first before doing the same to Minki's door.  

Minhyun groaned when he opened his eyes, yawning loudly. Jisung was already wearing a mask over his nose and eyes to protect himself from the dust.  

"Minhyun, climb into the attic and start looking through the boxes. Make sure you don't break anything though." Jisung said as he grabbed a chair to help Minhyun climb into the attic. Since Minhyun was the tallest in the family, he was the only one that was able to reach the attic. 

"Should I throw the boxes down or hand them to you?" Minhyun said as he stepped onto the chair, climbing into the attic.  

"Pass them to me carefully and then I'll be able to pass them to Minki." Jisung replied. 

Minhyun let out a cough once he reached the attic. It had been a year since he had climbed into the small space and the dust had accumulated over the last year. Minhyun could see the boxes of old clothes and other old things that they had stuffed into the attic. 

However, there was one box that Minhyun did not recognize. It was a small wooden box that had his family name engraved on it. There also seemed to be a place where a lock was supposed to be, but it was empty.  

"I wonder what this is..." Minhyun thought out loud as he opened the box. Inside the wooden box was another box, this time it was smaller and made out of glass. Minhyun could see through the glass and inside of the glass box was a silver pocket watch. 

Rather than putting it aside, Minhyun quickly brought the box over to where his brother was waiting. Minhyun carefully jumped down and out of the attic.  

"Hyung, what's this pocket watch? I don't think I have ever seen this before." Minhyun slowly took the glass out of the wooden box to show Jisung. 

"I think that belonged to our great great grandfather. It's been in our family for years, but the pocket watch doesn't work anymore. I remember when I was younger, I tried to open the glass box but I couldn't find an opening for it." Jisung said as he stared at the glass box.  

"Be careful with that." Minki said as he stared at the glass box as well. 

"Why?" Minhyun replied as he searched the glass box to find an opening. 

"Glass is fragile. If you drop it, one of us might get cut." Minki responded, still staring at the glass box. 

Before Minhyun had the chance to reply, he felt a sneeze come over him because of the dust. He sneezed loudly and ultimately lost his grip on the glass box. The glass box fell to the floor and shattered everywhere, leaving the silver pocket watch unprotected and on the ground. 

Suddenly, a white light surrounded both Minhyun and the pocket watch. Jisung gasped and covered his eyes, protecting himself from the light. Time seemed to stop for a few moments before Jisung was able to open his eyes again. 

"What just happened, Minhyun?" Jisung said, turning to face the direction where he thought his brother was, only to find it empty.  

"Minhyun? Minhyun!" Jisung quickly checked Minhyun's room, but it was empty as well. 

"He's gone." Minki said quietly, staring at all the broken glass on the floor. 

"Yah, what do you mean he's gone? He was just here!" Jisung exclaimed as panic overtook his emotions. 

"When he broke open that glass box, he did so much more than you actually think."  

Jisung stared at his younger cousin, not knowing what to think. One minute ago, his brother was right next to him, but now he was gone.  

"Minki, do you know where he went? You have to tell me if you know." Jisung grabbed his cousin's shoulders and shook him gently. 

"The pocket watch took him back to the past, where the pocket watch belongs." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip there's grammar mistakes everywhere and i will eventually come back and edit as much as i can   
> \+ the title is a reference to legend of zelda: breath of the wild!! yay  
> jaehwan finally gets introduced in this chapter

"You're way too old to be attempting this." 

"Yah, you're my best friend so you should be supporting me." 

"Yeah, I'm your best friend, but I'm also your adviser. So I'm just advising you to _not_ do this." 

Kim Jonghyun stared up at the crown prince who was currently standing in a tree. Seongwoo had always been obsessed with the idea of flying, and he was sure that he had come up with the perfect chant to grant him flying abilities.  

"Mother gave me her magic book for a reason and I want to make sure I use it." Seongwoo said as he practiced the chant once more.  

"She gave you her book because you're the eldest son, so you're the only one with magic abilities. Jaehwan and Daehwi don't have those abilities." Jonghyun sighed and waited at the bottom of the tree with his arms spread open. The crown prince would probably fail at flying, so he had to make sure that Seongwoo landed safely.  

"Isn't it strange how only the oldest child can use magic? I kind of feel bad because Jaehwan and Daehwi don't have any special abilities." Seongwoo sighed as he clapped his hands together twice, signaling the start of his chant. He murmured the spell softly as his body began to glow.  After his chant, he jumped off of the tree branch, bracing himself for flight.  

Jonghyun readied himself for Seongwoo's fall. To his surprise, the crown prince actually began to fly. Seongwoo let out a shout of joy as he soared through the air.  

Jonghyun smiled as he watched Seongwoo fly around. After many years of practice, Seongwoo finally had some sort of grip over his magic. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded Jonghyun. He wasn't sure where exactly it came from, but what he did know was that there was something falling out of the sky, straight towards the crown prince. 

"Seongwoo, you need to get back on the ground right now. There's something coming this way." Jonghyun called out as he reached behind himself to grab his bow and arrows. He steadied his grip, aiming right at the foreign object that was approaching Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo quietly obeyed his advisor, landing carefully on the ground. He stared back up at the sky, watching as the light quickly faded, revealing a man's body falling from the sky. 

"Wait, Jonghyun! That's a person! Lower your weapon!" Seongwoo quickly clapped his hands twice, activating his magic once more. Before Jonghyun had the chance to stop him, Seongwoo flew back into the air, straight towards the falling person.  

Seongwoo carefully caught the person while in midair. The impact caused him to fall back, however he was able to regain his balance and land on the ground safely. The crown prince gently placed the unconscious stranger on the ground and examined his clothing. 

"I don't think this person is from here..." Seongwoo mumbled softly, causing Jonghyun to chuckle in reply. 

"Well, he's obviously not from here. He literally fell from the sky, Seongwoo." Jonghyun said as he gently poked the stranger's cheek. Jonghyun didn't get a response, but he could see the stranger breathing softly. 

"Let's bring him back to the castle for now. Maybe Jaehwan or Daehwi would know what to do."  

Jonghyun carefully picked up the stranger and started carrying him towards the direction of the royal family's castle. The unconscious man was wearing a very strange outfit. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.  

If his suspicions were correct, he already knew who was behind all of this. 

X 

"Hyung, do you know where the royal knights are training today? They aren't in the courtyard." The youngest prince of the kingdom, Daehwi, pouted his lips slightly as he stared out of his window. His servant, Woojin, was making his bed. Even though Woojin's official title was just a servant, he was also one of Daehwi's close friends. 

"I believe they went into the forest today, your highness." Woojin replied as he folded Daehwi's blankets.  

"Ah, that's no fun. I wanted to see them train again today." Daehwi sighed and kept staring out of his window. He blinked when he heard a very loud and maniacal laugh from the garden below his window. 

"Jaehwannie hyung has such a strange laugh. Mother and father never laughed like that, so I wonder who he got it from." Daehwi smiled at the sound of his older brother's laughter. Even though Daehwi was the youngest prince, he didn't get that much attention. His oldest brother, the crown prince, was much more popular than he was. Seongwoo was expected to inherit the throne in just a few months, so Daehwi and his other older brother, Jaehwan, would remain as princes for the rest of their lives.  

However, Daehwi didn't mind at all. He knew about the stress that would overcome Seongwoo once he became king, and he was glad he wouldn't have to go through that.  

Jaehwan, on the other hand, was slightly bitter about the throne. He was just one year younger than Seongwoo and yet there was a wide gap between them. As the oldest child, Seongwoo had access to his family's magic abilities. Jaehwan had no magic ability whatsoever. 

"Prince Jaehwan! Please stop running away from me!"  

Daehwi peeked down at the garden and watched as Jaehwan's servant, Guanlin, ran after the prince. The younger boy had been found a few months ago at the side of the road, starved and filthy. Jaehwan immediately took him back to the castle and cleaned him up. To repay his debt, Guanlin was serving Jaehwan as a servant.  

The young boy had a very limited vocabulary, but Jaehwan was slowly helping him out. The only things Guanlin could really do was clean and help Jaehwan get ready in the morning.  

"Guanlin! No running in the garden. You'll trip and fall into the rose bush again."  

Daehwi blinked when he heard his older brother's advisor call out to the younger servant. Jonghyun was walking into the garden, carrying an unconscious person on his back. The unconscious person was a lot taller than Jonghyun, but he seemed to be carrying him just fine.  

Daehwi watched as his older brothers talked down in the garden. Even though he couldn't hear what exactly they were talking about, he knew they were probably talking about whoever Jonghyun was carrying. Guanlin helped Jonghyun carry the person into the castle and that's when Daehwi decided to leave his room to see what the commotion was all about. 

"Let's go, Woojin hyung. I want to see what my brothers are up to." 

X 

Jaehwan was definitely confused when he saw his older brother's advisor carrying an unconscious person into the castle.  

"Did you kill him?" He asked bluntly, staring at the person with worried eyes. 

"Of course not. He fell out of the sky." Seongwoo replied and Jaehwan couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. 

"Guanlin, take this person from Jonghyun and carry him into the infirmary." Jaehwan said and the younger boy nodded, taking the unconscious person onto his back.  

The two princes walked to the infirmary together with Jonghyun and Guanlin following behind them. Jaehwan listened as Seongwoo told him about his use of magic and the younger prince couldn't help but feel jealous. The only ability that Jaehwan had was that he was an amazing singer. However, a singing prince wasn't exactly a big deal.  

"He's wearing strange clothes." Jaehwan noted as he looked back at the sleeping stranger on Guanlin's back. 

"I know. He's definitely not from here. He's quite handsome though, I wonder where he's from."  

Once they reached the infirmary, Guanlin gently placed the unconscious person on a vacant bed. The royal family's doctor wasn't around at the moment, so there was no immediate medical help available.  

"What do we do with him?" Jonghyun said softly.  

"Should we try to wake him up?" 

Jaehwan and Seongwoo turned around to face their younger brother who was standing in the doorway. He entered the infirmary slowly, trying not to make a lot of noise. 

"What if he can't speak our language?" Jaehwan said as he took a seat at the edge of the bed.  

"I can try to create a language chant to translate everything." Seongwoo replied as he glanced over at Jonghyun, who nodded in response. 

"His clothes are so strange..." Daehwi said as he stared at the person's outfit. He was wearing some sort of blue pants material and a strange shirt that had buttons in the middle of them. 

Suddenly, the young man let out a soft groan. Jaehwan watched as the stranger opened his eyes slowly to face everyone in the room. 

"Where... am I?"  

Everyone was silent as the young man sat up in bed. He started rubbing his eyes slowly before making eye contact with Jaehwan. The young prince stared back, feeling drawn to the young stranger. He had a strange accent, but he could speak their language.  

"What's your name?" Jonghyun said as he took a step in front of the prince. Both Guanlin and Woojin did the same. Even though they were just servants, their duty was to protect the royal family and this young stranger could have been a threat. 

"My name is Minhyun. So can you please tell me where I am?" The young man appeared to be harmless, so Jonghyun relaxed slightly. 

"You're in the royal family's infirmary. You fell from the sky earlier and Prince Seongwoo caught you."  

"Royal family? Prince?" Minhyun blinked and stared at the six people that were surrounding him. He could tell which ones were royalty and which ones weren't. Their clothes displayed their status.  

"My name is Seongwoo. I am the crown prince of this kingdom." Seongwoo bowed slightly as he introduced himself.  

"I am Jonghyun, the crown prince's adviser." Jonghyun bowed his head and took a step behind Seongwoo. 

"I'm Jaehwan, the second prince of the kingdom." Jaehwan said as he looked away slightly. Seongwoo elbowed him gently, forcing him to bow.  

"I'm Guanlin. I serve Prince Jaehwan." The young boy bowed deeply after he introduced himself. 

"I'm Daehwi, the youngest prince of the kingdom. This is Woojin, my servant." Both Daehwi and Woojin bowed at the same time. 

Minhyun stared at the three princes in awe. Just a few moments ago, he was helping his brother clean the attic. But now, he was surrounded by people who claimed to be royalty. He felt as if he was dreaming, but everything felt too real to be a dream. Suddenly, he remembered he still had his family's pocket watch with him. He carefully took it out, causing everyone in the room to gasp. 

"Where did you get that?" Jonghyun said as he stared at the silver pocket watch. 

"Apparently it's my family's heirloom..." Before Minhyun could finish his sentence, Seongwoo had interrupted him. 

"Bring him down to the dungeon. Lock him up." 

Minhyun blinked in surprise when he heard the crown prince's words. He felt Jonghyun and Guanlin grabbing both of his arms tightly. He struggled to break free, but he wasn't strong enough. Woojin quickly grabbed the silver pocket watch out of Minhyun's hand, carefully handing it to Seongwoo. 

"Wait a minute! What are you doing? Give me that pocket watch back! I didn't do anything wrong! I don't even know why I'm here!" Minhyun cried out as he was being dragged out of bed and into the hallway. The princes followed close behind him, all bearing the same serious expression on their faces. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't have a witch's descendant roam free in my kingdom." Seongwoo said as he let Jonghyun and Guanlin drag Minhyun away. Minhyun kept trying to fight his way free, but he didn't have enough strength to get away. 

Minhyun looked back to stare at the sullen princes. Nothing was making any sense anymore. He was sure he was in some kind of horrible nightmare and that Jisung or Minki would soon wake him up. However, the look on Jaehwan's face brought him back to reality. 

It was almost as if Jaehwan looked guilty about something. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh snap seongwoo getting srs here
> 
> btw follow me on twitter if u wanna @/093LINE i dont bite but i do tweet alot so watch out


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hello hello (STREAM HELLO BY NUEST ON YT)   
> and yes follow me on twitter for bad tweets @/093LINE
> 
> please enjoy this chapter! things are slow but they'll get better  
> once again, grammar mistakes everywhere

"Are you sure that was a good idea, hyung?" Jaehwan asked his older brother as they made their way towards their respective rooms. It was almost time for their daily lessons from their tutors. Each prince had their own tutor to teach them different things about the kingdom. Seongwoo received lessons about being a king, while Jaehwan was only taught about the politics of neighboring countries. Daehwi received lessons that were similar to Jaehwan's. Even though they were all brothers, they received different educations. 

"Mother would have been very upset with us if she knew that there was a witch was among us. You do remember that she was killed by a witch, right? Mother's death also caused father to go into a deep depression and look at him now! He has given up being the king. I'm forced to take over the throne on my 22st birthday, rather than the traditional age of 30." Seongwoo frowned as his steps grew heavier and heavier.  

Their mother was killed a few years ago by a witch that had snuck into the royal family's servants. Seongwoo was only 18 years old when he had to lead the funeral procession. It was the most difficult task that he had to do as crown prince. Their father wasn't present at the funeral.  

"But just because he has that thing doesn't mean he's a witch." Jaehwan replied as he stared down at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look at his brother. 

"That thing, whatever it's called, is the same exact item that the witch that killed mother had. Don't you remember when we burned her at the stake? She was holding onto it as well. It burned in the fire, but that doesn't mean that it was the only one in the world." Seongwoo sighed as he finally reached his room. Jaehwan's room was right across the hall from his. 

"We'll talk about this later. Just go learn."  

Jaehwan nodded his head quietly before entering his room. His tutor was already waiting for him at his desk. 

"Welcome, Prince Jaehwan. Sit down and get your notes ready."  

Jaehwan approached his desk and took a seat. He tried his best to pay attention throughout his lesson, but his thoughts wandered off. He stared out of the window and thought of the strange man that was currently in the castle's dungeon. 

He would definitely sneak off later to meet him. 

X 

"Okay, slow down Jisung hyung. First of all, what the _hell_ are you talking about? Secondly, why is your cousin tied to a chair?"  

Daniel stared as his best friend's older brother rambled on about a cleaning, a pocket watch, and Minhyun. 

"Listen to me! Minhyun is gone and it's all Minki's fault!" Jisung shouted as he pointed a finger over to the tied up Minki who looked unamused. 

"It's not my fault. I told him not to break the box and he broke it. Technically, I warned him." Minki rolled his eyes at Jisung's overreaction. 

"So where is Minhyun now?" Daniel asked as he tried to calm Jisung down. The young man just sighed and shook his head.  

"That's the thing... I have no idea where he is! Minki said something about the past, but that doesn't make any sense! None of this is making any sense."  

"I tried to tell you earlier. Minhyun hyung went back into the past. Why is that so hard for you to believe?" Minki said, looking back and forth between Jisung and Daniel. 

"Because people don't just _time travel_! That's impossible."  

"Well, it's possible if you're a witch." 

Daniel glanced at Minki and tilted his head to the side, feeling a bit curious. 

"Who's a witch?"  

"Minhyun hyung is. Well, technically Jisung hyung is too, but his capacity isn't that big compared to Minhyun hyung." Minki replied as his lips widened to form a smile. 

"Am I dreaming?" Jisung mumbled softly as he collapsed onto the floor. Daniel quickly wrapped his arms around Jisung, keeping him steady. 

"I think you need to start explaining yourself and I need you to tell us everything. I don't care how ridiculous it may sound, but we need the truth." Daniel said as he helped Jisung take a seat on a chair. He crossed his arms, waiting for Minki's explanation. 

"Okay, before I start, I just want to say that I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Minki said softly. He looked away for a moment before turning back to face Daniel and Jisung. 

"First of all, I'm not exactlyyour cousin, Jisung hyung. I'm actually a distant relative from the past. I guess you could say I'm your great great _great_ cousin. Anyway, I'm a witch and before you ask, yes male witches exist. The exact definition of a witch got lost and mistranslated through time, but originally, the term witch could also refer to males."  

Daniel and Jisung were silent as Minki continued to speak. 

"In our family, the male witches were always stronger than the female ones. As time went on, our magic abilities faded, but there's still some left in the descendants. Minhyun hyung had enough magic in him to activate the pocket watch, which is why he was taken to the past. I know it's hard to believe, but I can get him back. I just need your help."  

"But how can you prove that this is all real? How do we know you're not lying to us?" Daniel said softly. He was getting more and more confused as Minki explained things to him. However, he was sure of one thing and that was that he had to get his best friend back.  

Because he _seriously_ wanted his PlayStation controller back. 

"I can take you to the past. Jisung hyung may not have as much magic as Minhyun hyung, but combined with mine, it should be enough for us to travel to the past. We just need a piece of silver to. Ideally, we would use a silver pocket watch, but just a wrist watch should work as well." Minki said as he glanced at Daniel's wrist. He was wearing the perfect watch to use. 

Daniel followed Minki's glance and he let out a soft groan when he realized what he had to do. 

"Okay, I expect you to buy me a watch if something happens to my watch." Daniel said to Jisung, who nodded in reply. 

"I'll buy you a house if we get my brother back. Don't worry." Jisung smiled at Daniel and they both turned to Minki, who was still tied to the chair. 

"Anyway, I need you to untie me, Jisung hyung. I can't really use my magic if I'm tied up like this."  

Jisung quickly untied Minki, letting the younger (older) man stand up freely. Minki stretched his arms before reaching his hand out for Daniel's watch. 

"Now listen to me... I've only told you part of the story. When we get to the past, you'll notice some strange and crazy things. When we're there, I'll be able to explain everything better. For now, just trust me."  

"Wait, are we about to go to the past now? Like right now?" Daniel said as he passed his watch over to Minki. He wasn't exactly sure how to feel about time travelling. 

"Of course we're going right now. The faster we find Minhyun hyung, the faster we'll be able to return home. You have to remember that travelling to the past may have an effect on the future. If Minhyun hyung accidentally does something harmful in the past, the future won't be the same." Minki replied. He held Daniel's watch up in his hands and chanted softly. Jisung gasped as he and Daniel were enveloped in a bright light. He was definitely scared of whatever was about to come, but he _had_ to get his younger back.  

X 

Minhyun groaned as he tried to break free of the chains that were around his wrists. He knew he wasn't strong enough, but he had to try. He had been thrown into a cell without warning and the servants were quick to chain him to the wall. He had been down there for what seemed like hours. 

"Is there anyone out there?!" Minhyun called out, still struggling against his chains. He felt dirty and gross on the ground like this. His clothes were ruined and he was starting to feel pain in his back. 

"Stop yelling. You're going to cause a commotion." A familiar voice said. 

Minhyun stared at the entrance of his cell and saw the second oldest prince standing there with his servant. 

"You're Jaehwan, right? You're the middle prince." Minhyun said as he recalled his meeting with the prince.  

Jaehwan approached Minhyun slowly with Guanlin directly behind him. The young servant was carrying a tray with what seemed to be bread and a glass of water. 

"I figured you'd be hungry after being here for so long. I heard time travelling can be a bit tough on the stomach." Jaehwan said softly as Guanlin brought the tray closer to him. The younger boy held the glass of water to Minhyun's lips and he carefully started to drink. 

"How would you know what time travelling is like?" Minhyun asked as he stared up at the prince.  

Jaehwan looked away for a moment before replying, "Let's just say I've met someone that was capable of time travelling." 

Minhyun eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the second prince. Even though the three princes were obviously brothers, they didn't resemble each other at all. Seongwoo and Daehwi both had dark brown hair, while Jaehwan had black hair. The only resemblance among the three of them were their eyes.  

"You seem like the nicest among your brothers. Can you explain a few things to me? Like why you guys think I'm a witch?" Minhyun asked. Guanlin quietly broke off a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth. Minhyun chewed slowly as he waited for a response.  

"That piece of silver you were carrying with you. They say only witches have control over things like that." Jaehwan replied softly.  

"That's just a pocket watch though. All it does is tell time." Minhyun explained before taking another sip of water.  

"We humans don't know how they work, but witches do. We feel threatened by the information we don't have control over. It's the same reason why magic is dangerous. Most people in this land don't have any magical abilities, and yet all witches are born with great power. We are afraid of the unknown."  

Minhyun just let out a sigh before letting his head fall. There was no use in trying to explain himself because he was also confused about everything. 

"I can tell that you don't know how to use magic. You seem pretty harmless, actually." Jaehwan said as he nodded towards Guanlin. The young servant stood up and took keys out of his pocket. He unlocked the chains that were bound to Minhyun. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm not letting you out of the dungeon, but being chained to the wall for hours might hurt you. Guanlin wil bring you a change of clothes. You stand out too much in what you're wearing now." Jaehwan replied. He made his way towards the entrance of the cell and smiled at Minhyun before leaving with Guanlin following behind him. The young servant made sure to lock the cell when they left. 

Minhyun gently rubbed his sore wrists, frowning when he noticed bruises starting to form. He had to find a way out of his cell, but where would he go after that? He didn't even know what time period he was in.  

Things were just going downhill for him.  

X 

"So, you're telling me that there's someone from the future currently locked up in the dungeon?" 

"Dongho, for the _tenth_ time, yes. This is why I need you to find that witch, Minki. I think he had something to do with this."  

Jonghyun was training with the royal knights to pass the time while Seongwoo was in a meeting with his royal council. Even though Jonghyun was his adviser, he was still just a servant in everyone else's eyes. He was training with Kang Dongho, a young knight that served the royal family. The two were the same age, so they became close friends. 

"I haven't seen Minki in almost a year. I thought you presumed he was dead." Dongho replied as he sharpened his sword. 

"Minki is smarter than that. I highly doubt he's even capable of dying. He probably sent Minhyun back here to ruin everything."  

Jonghyun could only sigh as he laid back on the grassy field. He hated to admit it, but he was feeling very useless. He was unable to help the crown prince with anything because of the lack of information he had. He wanted to know more about Minhyun, but something was holding him back. 

"I'll be on the look out for Minki. I can't make any promises though."  

"Thank you, Dongho." 

X 

Later that night, while everyone else was asleep, Jaehwan snuck out of his room with Guanlin. He was carrying some old clothes to give to Minhyun. He knew Seongwoo would be upset with him ineracting with the prisoner, so he made sure to stay as silent as possible. 

"Okay Guanlin. Go ahead and bring these clothes to Minhyun. I'll be waiting by mother."  

The young servant quickly ran off towards the dungeon, carrying the clothes. Once Guanlin was out of sight, Jaehwan made his way out of the castle and towards his mother's tombstone. When she passed away, the entire kingdom was in shock. Jaehwan's memories were a bit blurry, but he knew his mother was an amazing person. Seongwoo, Daehwi, and Jaehwan helped build her memorial.  

The second prince sat in front of her tombstone and just smiled. He would sometimes sneak out of his room in the middle of the night to just sit in front of his mother's grave. 

"Hello mother, I'm back again. I wasn't able to visit for a few days, but I'm here now." Jaehwan went on to tell his mother about his current lessons and other events that had happened over the last couple day. 

"Ah, and the strange person from the future came today. He's exactly what you described him to be like..." Jaehwan felt tears beginning to form in his eyes and he didn't bother wiping them away. He let out a soft cry as he covered his face with his hands. 

"I'm sorry mother. This really was all my fault."  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i'm too fond of cliffhangers + i love jisung


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello... minhyun's wanna one profile picture destroyed me  
> and  
> grammar mistakes!!! everywhere!!! i'm sorry lol

Jisung believed he was an intelligent person because he had received good grades ever since he was a child. Sure, he wasn't as smart as his younger brother, but he definitely wasn't an idiot.  

So when he was suddenly falling from the sky, he tried his best to come up with a logical answer. However, his mind was just blank. 

"Hyung! I think we're gonna die!" Daniel yelled as he covered his eyes with his hands. Jisung could see the ground quickly approaching beneath him. 

"Calm down. I got this." Minki said as he clapped his hands together.  

Jisung watched as Minki's modern day clothing suddenly burned off of him, revealing what seemed to be a black robe that almost resembled a hanbok. Minki chanted something softly and a soft light enveloped the three men. They landed safely on the ground, but Daniel couldn't help but let our a soft scream. 

"We just fell from the sky but we're alive!"  

Jisung took a few deep breaths before glaring at Minki. The young witch just smiled in reply before shrugging his shoulders. 

"If you time travel, you end up falling from the sky. I don't know why exactly that happens though."  

"Doesn't that mean Minhyun fell from the sky earlier? What if there was no one around to catch him?" Jisung said worriedly. He was becoming more and more concerned with the well-being of his younger brother.  

"He's probably fine. We just need to find him here. We also need to get you guys some appropriate clothes before we start searching for him though." Minki said as he looked over the outfits that Daniel and Jisung were wearing. They were both wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but it would definitely stand out in this time period. 

"Where will we go?" Daniel asked. His head was still rushing from the fall. 

"Let's go to my hometown. It's around here and I might be able to find some information about Minhyun's whereabouts." Minki replied. He started to walk down a path that was leading towards what seemed to be a small village. Daniel and Jisung quickly followed after the young witch.  

It was silent as the trio walked down the path. Jisung and Daniel were still in shock over what had happened in the last few moments. Only moments ago, they were in Jisung's apartment and then they were suddenly falling from the sky.  

"Is your hometown full of other witches?" Daniel asked softly. He was holding onto Jisung to make sure he didn't fall behind their fast steps. 

"No, not really. There's only one other witch that lives there and he can't use magic that well. He's basically harmless." Minki explained as they neared the small village. As they entered the village, Jisung and Daniel quickly caught everyone's attention with their strange clothes. Minki sighed and picked up his pace, walking faster towards a small house that was next to a small pond. 

Minki walked right in, not even bothering to knock. He ushered the two other men inside and closed the door behind them. The small house was only one room and it was very simple. There were two beds that were in opposite corners and a table between them.  

"Is this your home?" Jisung asked as Minki walked over to one of the beds. The young witch pulled a small box out from under the bed and opened it carefully, revealing clothes. He pulled out two outfits and tossed them over to Jisung and Daniel. 

"Yeah, if I'm in the past, this is where I stay. The other witch, Sewoon, should be home any minute now." 

As if on cue, the front door opened and there was another young man standing there. He was carrying a small bag of vegetables in his arms. He simply blinked at Minki before letting out a soft sigh. 

"What did you do this time, Minki hyung?" 

He walked into the home, making sure to close the door behind him. He ignored Jisung and Daniel and just started to unload his bag of vegetables on the table. 

" _Ponyo_?" Daniel asked as he took a closer look at the stranger's face.  

"Pon-what?" The stranger said in reply, staring blankly back at Daniel. 

"This is Sewoon, he's the useless witch I was talking about earlier." Minki said as he gently patted Sewoon's shoulder. 

"I'm not completely useless. I cook all of your meals for you." Sewoon said, feeling slightly hurt. He looked back and forth between Daniel and Jisung slowly. 

"Ah, are they from the future? I was wondering when you were coming back, hyung. I didn't expect you to come back so soon though." Sewoon said as he continued to unload his bag of vegetables. When he took out a potato, Minki groaned. 

"You know I _hate_ potatoes." 

"I apologize, but just because potatoes remind you of Jonghyun hyung doesn’t mean that I'm not allowed to eat them." 

"Okay, you need to start explaining things to us before I get even more confused." Jisung said, still holding onto the clothes that Minki handed him. 

"Sewoon, this is Jisung hyung and Daniel hyung. They came back with me to get Minhyun, Jisung's younger brother who accidentally time traveled. Jisung and Minhyun are actually descendants of my family, but let's not get into details here. I need you to go around and see if anyone has heard any gossip about someone falling from the sky." Minki explained to the other witch, who nodded in reply. 

"Alright, I'll be back in time to cook dinner." Sewoon smiled and quickly left the house, leaving the trio alone. 

"He listens to you pretty well. Is he your younger brother?" Daniel asked as he took a seat at the table. 

Minki shook his head and sighed, "Sewoon isn't related to me. When his family discovered that he had magic abilities, they kicked him out of their home. His family's magical abilities are nearly non-existent, so they were shocked to find out he was actually a witch. I took him in a few years ago." 

Minki sat down on his bed and stared at Jisung and Daniel, frowning slightly.  

"You guys need to change into those clothes now. I can't have you two standing out while we look for Minhyun."  

Jisung and Daniel quickly started to change, not feeling embarrassed at all. They were both wearing robes that were similar to Minki's. Daniel's outfit was dark blue while Jisung's was gray. 

"I think I learned about these outfits in one of my history classes before." Daniel said as he spun around in his new outfit. He was surprisingly very comfortable. 

"We'll leave tomorrow morning after Sewoon gathers enough information. We can have dinner here tonight and I hope you guys are okay with sharing a bed. I don't have that much space in my home." Minki stood up from his bed and walked towards the front door.  

"I'll be back later. I have to gather some supplies. Stay here."  

Minki shut the door behind him, leaving Jisung and Daniel alone. The two sat in silence, simply waiting for the young witch's return. 

X 

"How's the witch doing?" 

Jaehwan gasped in surprise when his younger brother suddenly appeared in front of him. He had just returned from the dungeon. It's only been a few days since Minhyun arrived, but Jaehwan had already visited him a few times.  

"He's not a witch." Jaehwan replied, walking past the youngest prince.  

"You may think that, but he clearly came from another time." Daehwi said as he started to walk next to Jaehwan. 

"Maybe a witch from the future accidentally sent him back here." Jaehwan said, defending Minhyun. He had gotten close to the strange young man because of his visits to the dungeon. Even though he couldn't set Minhyun free, he gave him food and water. Jaehwan also made sure to give Minhyun new clothes to wear.  

"Why are you defending him so much? Seongwoo hyung would be so angry if he found out you were visiting that guy." Daehwi let out a soft sigh before shaking his head. 

"I have my reasons, okay? You wouldn't understand." Jaehwan frowned and stopped walking once he reached his room. Daehwi stared at his older brother before smiling a bit. 

"I'm always here if you need someone to talk to, hyung. Don't forget that I'm your brother." The youngest prince walked off, leaving Jaehwan alone to think.  

As soon as he entered his room, Jaehwan spotted Guanlin cleaning the windows. The servant was humming softly to himself as he wiped the glass clean.  

"Enjoying yourself, Guanlin?" Jaehwan smiled and threw himself onto the bed, trying to relax. 

"Of course, your highness. I'm alive and well-fed." Guanlin turned his head to smile back at the prince. Even though he was just a servant, he really was enjoying his life. 

"Later tonight, I need you to bring Minhyun here."  

Guanlin's eyes widened in surprise after he heard the second prince speak. 

"What? I can't do that! Prince Seongwoo would be very upset."  

"You’re my servant and you serve me. An order is an order." Jaehwan said seriously. Guanlin just nodded his head, unable to argue any further.  

"Bring him to my room during dinner. I'll be able to distract Seongwoo hyung and Daehwi." Jaehwan continued to explain. He needed to get Minhyun out of the dungeon before Seongwoo hyung did anything to him. Even though his brother was a kind person, he was very cruel when it came to the witches.  

In fact, his older brother was the one that ordered for the public killing of the witch that killed their mother. Jaehwan shuddered when he remembered the flames that took over the witch's body. It was a sight he would never forget.  

Jaehwan could only hope that flames would never engulf his own body. 

X 

At dinner, Daehwi noticed that his older brothers were strangely quiet. Dinners between the three princes were normally very loud and obnoxious (in Daehwi's opinion), so when the soon-to-be king was silent, Daehwi knew something was wrong. 

"Did something happen? Both of you are quiet tonight." Daehwi asked as he took a bite out of his food. Tonight's dinner was meat with a side of vegetables, his favorite meal. 

"Nothing. I'm just tired from today's meetings." The oldest prince said, poking his food with his fork. He didn't feel like eating dinner, but he knew Jonghyun would be mad if he skipped a meal. 

The second prince didn't bother replying to Daehwi's question, causing the youngest prince to just roll his eyes. There was definitely something wrong with Jaehwan, but it would be very difficult for Daehwi to get him to talk about it. The second prince never talked about his feelings.  

Dinner went on as silently as it started. Jaehwan was the first to finish his meal and normally he stayed at the table until everyone was finished, but this time he sat up as soon as he was finished and excused himself. 

"I'll be going to bed now. Goodnight. Sleep well, you two." Jaehwan smiled at his brothers and left the dining hall, not turning back. Daehwi pouted and continued on eating his meal, not noticing Seongwoo's lips form into a frown. 

X 

"Did you get him? Did you get him?" Jaehwan said quickly as soon as he stepped into his room. His servant was waiting patiently by the door. 

"Yes, he's in your bathroom. I let him freshen up a bit because he was filthy and I didn't want him to get your room dirty as well." Guanlin replied.  

Jaehwan could hear water splashing in his bathroom and he sighed in relief. He was glad Guanlin had accomplished his task. 

"Thank you so much, Guanlin. I know how hard this must have been." 

"Anything to help, your highness." Guanlin just smiled and wandered over to the door, standing in front of it.  

Suddenly, the door of the bathroom opened, revealing a clean and fresh Minhyun. Jaehwan cleared his throat before nodding at Minhyun. 

"Thanks for getting me out of that cell... But what exactly are you doing?" Minhyun asked as he tilted his head to the side. His voice was a bit raspy due to his lack of water and food in the last few days.  

"I'm trying to save you." Jaehwan said, looking straight at Minhyun.  

"Save me from what?"  

"Save you from Seongwoo hyung." 

Minhyun blinked, trying to remember if the oldest prince had threatened him in any way. He hadn't met the oldest prince since he arrived in the past, so Minhyun almost forgot about him. 

"What do you mean?"  

"What I mean is that we have to return you to the future. You aren't safe here." Jaehwan continued on before he clapped his hands together.  

Guanlin's eyes widened when he saw the prince glowing in front of him. Minhyun's jaw dropped and he instinctively reached out to grab Jaehwan, while Guanlin did the same. The three were enveloped in the bright light as well before they completely disappeared from the room, leaving nothing behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bum bum bUuUUuUuUUm!! leave a comment below and tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy today's update! sorry for grammar and spelling mistakes as well.

"Hey, I might have some information for you." 

Jonghyun was on his way to Seongwoo's room when a voice called out to him. He turned around and saw Dongho walking towards him. The young knight wasn't wearing his armor, but his sword was still fastened at his hip. Rarely did Dongho ever leave his room without his sword. 

"Did you find out where that witch is?" Jonghyun asked, crossing his arms. 

Dongho let out a loud laugh and nodded his head, "You refer to him with such hate. It's like you aren't in love with him." 

"Because I'm _not_ in love with him! Not anymore, at least." Jonghyun tried to hide his blush by looking away, but Dongho spotted it right away. 

"Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, another knight was visiting his hometown yesterday and spotted Minki with two strangely dressed people. It's possible Minki time traveled with those two that are with him now." Dongho replied. He smiled and bowed his head before excusing himself. 

Jonghyun cleared his throat before walking back towards Seongwoo's room. He had to figure out how to get Minki back to the castle to interrogate him. Though he didn't have much time, he would have to sneak out of the castle at night.  

He knew exactly where Minki lived and it wouldn't take him long to find him. 

X 

"What just happened?!" Guanlin gasped for air as he fell to the ground. He felt like he just been punched hard in the stomach and was on the verge of vomitting.  

Minhyun opened his eyes and looked around. He could have sworn that he was just in Jaehwan's room, but now he seemed to have time traveled again. He looked around and saw that he was in a familiar place. He was actually near his own home, which was surprising.  

"We time traveled back to where Minhyun hyung is from." Jaehwan just smiled and helped Guanlin up from the ground. The young servant was definitely still in shock.  

"How did we even get here?! What did you do?" Minhyun yelled, grabbing Jaehwan by his collar. The prince glared back at Minhyun before shoving him away. 

"You should be thanking me for saving you! I even managed to get you back to your own time period." Jaehwan exclaimed, yelling right back at Minhyun. 

"I'm taking your guys to my apartment. Once we're there, I expect an explanation for everything." Minhyun grabbed both Jaehwan and Guanlin's wrists, dragging them in the direction towards his apartment. He had to return home and tell his brother that he was safe. He knew Jisung was probably worried. 

Luckily, there weren't that many people walking around his apartment building. He knew that his traditional outfit would definitely catch people's attention. If anyone asked, he would just say that they were cosplaying for school.  

"What are all these tall buildings? Are these castles?" Guanlin asked as he stared up at the tall apartment buildings. He had never seen such tall buildings before, so it was quite interesting to look at.  

"These aren't castles. They're called apartments. I live in one of these buildings, so you'll be able to look inside one soon." Minhyun replied. His head was still spinning after all that had just happened.  

When the trio got to Minhyun's building, the first thing Minhyun spotted was a bicycle that was chained to a tree. He groaned when he realized who the bicycle belonged to. 

"Hyung!"  

Seonho came running through the front doors of the building and straight towards Minhyun. The younger boy quickly tackled Minhyun to the ground, causing the two to fall. Jaehwan and Guanlin stared at the two on the ground, not quite sure what to say. 

"I was so worried about you! I called and texted you but I didn't get a reply! Then I called Jisung hyung, but he didn’t reply! He always replies to me, so I knew something was wrong. I tried calling Minki hyung too, but his phone was dead." Seonho cried out, latching himself onto Minhyun. 

"Is this your lover?" Guanlin asked suddenly, staring at the new person in front of him. 

"Lover? I _wis_ \- I mean, no! Minhyun hyung is just a good friend of mine." Seongho immediately defended himself as he stood back up. He dusted off his pants before helping Minhyun up as well. 

"Let's just talk inside. You can come too, Seonho."  

"I was going to come along anyway, but thanks for actually inviting me in." 

Guanlin stared at Seonho for a moment, feeling a bit confused. The young man looked to be around his age, but he seemed much more carefree and relaxed. 

"Are you okay?" Seonho asked as Guanlin as he took a closer look at the servant. Guanlin just nodded in reply before taking a step behind Jaehwan.  

Seonho pouted slightly at the lack of reply. He was curious about the two people Minhyun brought with him. They were all dressed in strange clothing, so he was looking forward to Minhyun's explanation about where he had been for the last few days. 

Minhyun lived on an upper floor, so riding an elevator was necessary. It was amusing to see Jaehwan asking so many questions about what an elevator actually was. 

"So this is a teleporter?" He asked as he touched the steel doors. The elevator was still coming down for them. 

"I guess, but it just brings us up or down. We need to take this up to reach my apartment." Minhyun replied. He still wasn't sure who Jaehwan really was. When they first met, Jaehwan seemed normal and friendly. He was thankful towards the second prince for bringing him food and water. However, now Minhyun wasn't sure what to think.  

Guanlin held onto Jaehwan's arm as they entered the elevator. Seonho kept on staring at the two with curious eyes. The elevator ride was silent except for Guanlin's nervous mumbling. Jaehwan felt bad for his servant. It was his fault for dragging the poor boy into this mess. 

They got off of the elevator on the 15th floor and Minhyun quickly rushed them over to his apartment. He unlocked the front door and let everyone inside. Once inside, he saw that things were exactly the same as he remembered. 

"Hyung? Jisung hyung?" Minhyun called out, searching for his brother. Seonho checked the other rooms in the apartment, finding it empty.  

"He's not here, hyung." Seonho said as he spotted a dying plant on the kitchen table. Jisung always made sure to water his plants and keep them alive, so the dying plant was evidence that he had not been home in days. 

"I don't think Minki's here either." Minhyun groaned and walked over to the couch in the living room. He took a seat and looked over towards Jaehwan who was staring at the framed pictures on the walls. Though it still hurt to look at pictures of their parents, Jisung insisted on keeping them up. They had passed away years ago and Minhyun tried to keep it as a distant memory.  

"So where have you been all this time, hyung?" Seonho asked as he stood next to Guanlin. He wanted to be friends with everyone Minhyun was friends with. 

"Before I start, let me introduce you to these two. This is Jaehwan and Guanlin, they're from the past. Jaehwan is the second prince and Guanlin is his servant." Minhyun said, pointing over towards Jaehwan and Guanlin. Seonho just nodded his head, seemingly not surprised. 

"So... Does this mean you came from the past?" Seonho asked, tilting his head to the side. Minhyun was surprised at how well the high school student was taking in all the information. 

"Yeah. I accidentally time traveled when I broke a family heirloom I found. It sent me back to Jaehwan's time." Minhyun explained. Jaehwan quietly took a seat next to him on the couch and said nothing. 

"You know, Minki hyung always talked about time travel before. I thought he was crazy, but he was really passionate about it. He always said he was happy to be here, because the past gave him heartbreak. He never really explained why he felt that." Seonho said, thinking about all of the strange things Minki used to tell him. Minki had a very strange way of speaking, but Seonho thought that it was because he was sophisticated.   

"Minki. That name sounds familiar..." Jaehwan said softly, glancing up at Guanlin. 

"Isn't that the witch that Jonghyun hyung was friends with for a short while? But then Prince Seongwoo found out and forbid them from spending time together." Guanlin replied after thinking for a short moment. He could vaguely remember the witch that pretended to be a human to spend time with the oldest prince's adviser.  

"He must have been the one that sent you back in time. It could have been an accident, but now I have a feeling he went back in time to find you. He probably took your brother with him." Jaehwan said as he looked over at Minhyun.  

"Before we go any further, I need you to tell me how we got back to this time." Minhyun said. He turned his body to face Jaehwan, who just stared blankly back at him. 

"Okay, I'll explain everything. Guanlin, you also need to listen to this, since I haven't been completely truthful to you..." Jaehwan took a deep breath before smiling sadly at the three in front of him. 

"The truth is I'm actually the heir to the throne. I am the queen's firstborn son, which is why I have magic abilities." 

"What about Seongwoo? Isn't he older than you?" Minhyun asked, not sure what to think of the new information he was being told. 

"Seongwoo hyung isn't my biological brother... He's actually the son of a witch. When my mother was a young woman, she couldn't get pregnant. She became desperate and kidnapped Seongwoo hyung when he was just an infant. However, she became pregnant with me and I was born soon after that." Jaehwan sighed as he remembered his mother telling him the truth, right before she died. She had apologized so many times for giving away Jaehwan's place at the throne. This was one of the reasons why he was so jealous of Seongwoo.  

"Seongwoo hyung's mother eventually tracked him down and she planned her revenge against my mother. The witch that killed my mother was actually Seongwoo hyung's mother." Jaehwan continued on, running hand through his hair. It was the first time he had ever told anyone the truth. 

"Then the witch that Prince Seongwoo burned at the stake..." Guanlin started before gasping out loud. 

"Yes, the witch at the stake was Seongwoo hyung's mother. He killed his own mother."  

X 

"Oh, I wonder where Jonghyun hyung is sneaking off to." Daehwi said softly as he stared out of his window. He could see his older brother's adviser leaving the castle grounds, towards a forest. Jonghyun only left the castle when he was on business with Seongwoo, so it was a strange sight to see Jonghyun leave without him. 

"It's not good to snoop around, Prince Daehwi." Woojin called out as he helped the young prince change into his pajamas.  

"It's not snooping around if it's on accident, right? Anyway, Jaehwan hyung has been acting strange ever since that guy from the future came here. I wonder if he knows something about him." Daewi mused, rubbing his eyes softly.  

"Don't think too much about it. You won't be able to sleep tonight." Woojin just smiled and let the prince get into bed, bowing before stepping away from the bed.  

"Goodnight, Woojin hyung. Wake me up early tomorrow so that I can watch the knights spar." Daehwi smiled and closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly after.  

Woojin left the room quietly and spotted Dongho waiting in the hallway. The young knight nodded his head towards the servant. 

"Is he asleep already?" Dongho asked softly.  

"Yes, he fell asleep. You should really talk to him, you know. He's just a confused child." Woojin smiled back at the knight who just sighed.  

"Yeah, that's the thing... He's just like a child. But he's not the reason why I'm here to talk to you." Dongho replied as he approached Woojin. 

"You need to keep your guard up for the next few days. Jonghyun is trying to bring Minki back here and I need to make sure you defend Prince Daehwi. I know you don't like fighting, but keep your weapons close." Dongho handed the servant a short dagger, causing him to smile. 

"Oh, this is lovely. Is this perfect steel?" Woojin asked as he took a closer look at the dagger.  

Though Woojin appeared to be weak and defenseless, he was actually the strongest servant. He had been trained by Dongho ever since he was a child, so the two were close like brothers. This was also the reason why Daehwi had chosen Woojin as his servant. He knew how close he was to Dongho. 

"It seems like it's perfect steel. Anyway, use it carefully. I'll let you know if anything major happens." Dongho patted Woojin's shoulder before walking away. The knight left the castle and waited in the garden for Jonghyun's return. It was a chilly night, but Dongho didn't mind waiting for his friend's return.  

He had to make sure Jonghyun returned safely.  

X 

"I've never heard anyone do that to their teeth before." 

"I heard from my brother about Daniel's sleeping habits, but I didn't think it was this bad."  

Sewoon and Jisung were sitting at the table, staring at Daniel who was in a deep sleep. Unfortunately for them, Daniel was also grinding his teeth and mumbling loudly. Jisung was supposed to share a bed with him, but there was no way Jisung was going to get any sleep. 

Minki was also asleep in his own bed. He seemed to be unbothered by Daniel's noises. 

"So, you're from the future?" Sewoon asked softly, not wanting to wake anyone up. 

"Yeah, and Minki's been living with us for a few months now. Did he run away from something here?" Jisung asked as he stared into the cup of tea that Sewoon had given him. 

"Rather than something, he's been running from someone. Minki hyung won't admit it, but he's in love with someone." Sewoon looked over at the sleeping witch and smiled.  

"Did something happen between them?" Jisung asked as he also took a glance at his so-called cousin. 

"The person that Minki hyung loves is Jonghyun hyung, the royal adviser for the eldest prince in this kingdom. Unfortunately, this prince despises witches because his mother was killed by one. So when the prince found out that Minki hyung was a witch, Minki hyung ran away without telling Jonghyun hyung." Sewoon just let out a soft sigh, feeling a bit frustrated.  

He knew how hard it was for Minki to run away and he felt a bit disappointed in the fact that Minki came back so soon. He knew Minki's heart hadn't healed properly yet. 

"Did you find out any information about my brother?" Jisung asked, nearly forgetting why he had time travelled to the past in the first place.  

"Nothing specific. I've only heard bits and pieces of rumors that have been going around. Apparently Prince Seongwoo, the oldest prince, has a prisoner in the castle. It's possible that's your brother." Sewoon replied, not knowing if the information he had received was true or not. He had spoken to a few of the village people and knights that were in town.  

Before Jisung got the chance to reply, a loud knock came at the door. It was the middle of the night, so the witches definitely weren't expecting anyone. Sewoon clapped his hands together and chanted softly. His eyes glowed for a moment as he stared over at the door. 

"Oh no..." The witch gasped and quickly ran over to Minki, shaking him to wake him up. 

"Hyung! Minki hyung, you need to wake up!" Sewoon called out as the knocking on the door continued.  

Minki let out a groan and opened his eyes slowly, "Sewoon, what's wrong?" 

"He's here! Hyung, he's here!" 

"Who's here?" Minki asked as he sat up and glanced over at the front door. He could hear the knocking getting louder and louder.  

"Jonghyun hyung. He's at the door!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to comment below and tell me what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> planning for this to be around 10 to 12 chapters, so we're already halfway there! thanks for sticking with me throughout this ride. heh. sorry for grammar and spelling mistakes!

"Where is my brother?!" 

Several servants cowered in fear as the first prince yelled at them from his place on the throne. Even though he had not yet become king, Seongwoo already had his chair in place. He had a pleasant morning, since he didn't have lessons for the day. However, his day was quickly ruined after he had finished his breakfast. A servant had told him that Jaehwan and Guanlin were nowhere to be found. 

"Your highness, we really don't know where Prince Jaehwan and Guanlin went. We thought Guanlin woke up late so we went to go check on him in his room, but he wasn't there. Then we checked on Prince Jaehwan, but he wasn't in his room either. We've searched all throughout the castle, but they are no where to be seen." A servant replied, looking down at the floor. Rarely did Seongwoo become angry, but when he did, he made sure everyone felt his anger.  

"You're all useless! Bring Jonghyun to me instead, he'll know where my brother went." With a wave of his hand, Seongwoo quickly dismissed the servants. He knew Jonghyun had gone out to run a few errands the night before, but he needed to speak with his adviser soon.  

"Hyung! I just heard from Woojin hyung about what happened to Jaehwan hyung." Daehwi came rushing into the room, still wearing his pajamas. He looked as if he had just gotten out of bed. 

"How did Woojin even hear about this?" Seongwoo's eyes narrowed as he stared at his youngest brother. 

"The entire castle knows about Jaehwan hyung and Guanlin's disappearence. Father knows about it as well. He's requested to see you in his chambers in an hour. He seems to be quite upset." The third prince replied as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He normally didn't wake up until much later, but he was unable to sleep after he heard about Jaehwan's disappearence.  

Seongwoo just groaned and dismissed Daehwi as well, much to his dismay. Daehwi had no other choice but to listen to his brother's orders since he was the oldest prince. He quickly left the room, leaving Seongwoo alone.  

"Your highness." 

Seongwoo let out another groan as someone knocked on the door to enter the room. He wanted some time alone to think, but everyone kept getting in his way. He glared at the door, hoping whoever was behind it would leave quickly. 

"If you're not Jonghyun, then leave."  

"I'm coming in, Seongwoo." 

It took a moment for Seongwoo to recognize the voice that called out to him. He stared at the door as Jonghyun walked in with Dongho right behind him and Seongwoo immediately noticed that the young knight was a bit beat up, as if he had gotten into a fight. 

"What happened to you, Dongho?" Seongwoo asked as he stepped down from his throne. He quickly approached the knight to see his wounds. Dongho was rarely beaten in battle, so seeing him wounded was a shock. 

"It's nothing, your highness." Dongho bowed his head and looked away from the oldest prince. 

"Bring in the guests." Jonghyun suddenly said, looking over at the door.  

On cue, three other knights walked into the room with another person tied closely to them. The three had blindfolds on, so Seongwoo couldn't recognize them.  

"You three may leave. Leave our guests here." Jonghyun said softly as he let the three knights leave. Dongho stood at the door, guarding it just in case anyone tried to run. 

"Who are these three?" Seongwoo asked as Jonghyun made them all kneel before them. One by one, Jonghyun removed the blindfolds from the three.  

Seongwoo's eyes widened when he saw a familiar face in front of him. 

"Minki! Did you take my younger brother away from me?!" Seongwoo grabbed the witch's collar, pulling him to his feet. Minki glared, but did nothing to push the prince away from him. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about,  _your highness_." Minki snarled right back, not letting the prince intimidate him. 

"You're such a liar!" Seongwoo suddenly raised his hand, intending to slap Minki. However, before he could bring his hand back down, he felt someone grab his wrist. 

"I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm not about to let you hit my friend."  

Seongwoo stared at the person that had dared to get in his way. He didn't recognize him at all. He had some bruises on his face and his hands had a few wounds on them as well. As far as Seongwoo would tell, this was probably the person that had fought with Dongho. 

"And you are?" 

"My name is Daniel and I'd really appreciate if you'd let Minki go. He did nothing wrong." Daniel said, still holding onto Seongwoo's wrist. Jonghyun cleared his throat from the side, catching everyone's attention. 

"We need to settle down and talk. Seongwoo, you need to calm down and let Minki go." Jonghyun said as he gently pushed Seongwoo away from Minki. The young witch took a step back behind the young royal adviser, scowling slightly. 

"Okay, witch. First things first, where is my brother?" Seongwoo said as he walked back over to his throne. He sat upon his chair and glared down at the three that were below him.  

"I don't know where Jaehwan is." Minki replied as he looked up at the prince. He and Seongwoo would probably never get along, so Minki didn't feel the need to be nice to him. Seongwoo was the main reason why he and Jonghyun's friendship had fallen apart.  

"So then who are these two gentlemen that are with you?" Seongwoo continued on, glancing over at Daniel. The other person that Minki had with him hadn't said a word yet. 

"This is Daniel hyung and Jisung hyung. I brought them from the future because Jisung's brother accidentally time traveled. I also heard that you might have him here as a prisoner." Minki said as he helped Jisung rise to his feet. Jisung was exhausted after being dragged to the castle since he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. 

"What's your brother's name?" Seongwoo asked, staring right at Jisung. 

"His name is Minhyun and please tell me you have him. I need to take him home." Jisung begged, nearly getting on his knees again. Minki's grip on his arm kept him from kneeling. 

Before Seongwoo got the chance to say anything, a loud knock came at the door again. Since Dongho was closest to the door, he opened it slightly to see who it was. A shriek was heard from in the hallway, causing everyone to stare at Dongho and the door. 

"Prince Daehwi, please don’t yell like that if you're not in danger." Dongho scolded, opening the door for the prince to walk in. The youngest prince just blushed and nodded his head, heading straight towards his brother. 

"The witch is gone, hyung. I sent Woojin down to the dungeon to check on him, but Woojin just came back and told me he was gone!" Daehwi rushed his sentence, feeling a bit out of breath since he ran as fast as he could when he found out Minhyun was gone. 

"The witch...? Does he mean Minhyun?" Jisung asked, looking back and forth between Minki and Seongwoo. All he wanted was to find his brother and return home, but things weren't going according to plan. 

"This can only mean one thing. Jaehwan, Guanlin, and Minhyun hyung are together. The only question is, where exactly are they?" Minki sighed and looked over at Jonghyun, who stared right back at him. The two shared the same thought, even though they had said nothing out loud to each other. 

Finding Minhyun, Jaehwan, and Guanlin was going to take up  _a lot_  of time and magic. 

X 

"Will you be returning back to your time now?" Minhyun asked as he passed Jaehwan a cup of tea. Guanlin had fallen asleep on the couch and Seonho was asleep on the floor as well. The four of them had talked for what seemed like hours before the younger two fell asleep. 

"I don't know if I have enough magic to do that. Since I've been keeping my abilities a secret from everyone, I haven't had the chance to practice that much." Jaehwan just frowned and stared at his reflection in his tea. 

"I think you should rest for a bit. I wouldn't want you to get hurt or anything, especially since you managed to get me back here." Minhyun smiled and gently patted Jaehwan's hand.  

"Is it alright if Guanlin and I rest here for a few days? I feel bad for dragging him into this as well. He's just a child." Jaehwan looked behind him and heard Guanlin snoring softly on the couch. The young servant was exhausted. 

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you guys. All I can ask for in return is if you can send my brother back here." Minhyun excused himself for a moment, walking back over into his room. He grabbed two pairs of sweatpants and two shirts for Jaehwan and Guanlin to use. 

"Change into these clothes so that you can sleep properly. The outfit you're wearing now is a bit outdated." Chuckling softly, Minhyun handed Jaehwan the clothes for him to wear. Jaehwan stared at the pants for a moment before frowning. 

"You're much taller than I am." Jaehwan pouted his lips but thanked Minhyun anyway. He started to change right in the kitchen, surprising Minhyun. 

"Don't you want to change in the bath- Okay, nevermind. I'm going to go wake up Guanlin." Minhyun just smiled at Jaehwan before going over to the couch, shaking Guanlin a bit. 

"Guanlin, wake up. You should change your clothes."  

The young servant groaned in his sleep before sitting up automatically. Minhyun helped Guanlin change out of his clothes because he was still half asleep. Jaehwan had already finished changing and was standing in the doorway, watching as Minhyun helped his servant. There was a small smile on his face as he watched Guanlin fall back asleep after changing. 

"Will Seonho be spending the night as well?" Jaehwan asked as he looked down at the sleeping teenager on the floor. Even though he didn't have a pillow or blanket, Seongho appeared to be quite comfortable. 

"Probably. He's spent a few nights here before when he wanted to hang out with Minki." Minhyun said as he placed a blanket over Seonho's sleeping body. The young boy mumbled softly in his sleep but didn't wake up. 

"Where should I sleep?" Jaehwan asked, suddenly feeling out of place. The couch was already taken up be Guanlin and Jaehwan didn't want to bother his servant's sleep. Minhyun stared down at where Seonho was sleeping and realized there was no space on the floor as well. Seonho had stretched himself out over all of the floor. 

"You could probably just sleep in my room. I can stay in Jisung hyung's room." Minhyun said as he lead the way over to his room. His room was relatively clean and he didn't mind letting Jaehwan use it for a few nights.  

He just hoped Jaehwan didn’t make a mess. 

"Okay, here's my room. Uh... There's the bed here and the bathroom is down the hall next to Jisung hyung's room. If you need me, you can just knock on the door." Minhyun explained slowly. When he was about to leave, Jaehwan quickly grabbed his wrist to keep him in the room. 

"Is something wrong?" Minhyun asked, staring down at Jaehwan's hand around his wrist. 

"There's something else I need to tell you." Jaehwan said softly, tightening his grip on Minhyun's wrist. 

"What's wrong?" Minhyun said, wincing a bit from the pain. Jaehwan's grip on his wrist was getting tighter and tighter. 

"Before my mother died, she told me her premonition of a stranger visiting from the future. Her description fits you perfectly. You're the only person that can help me take my rightful place at the throne... I love Seongwoo hyung with all my heart, but I need him off that throne." Jaehwan said as he took a seat on Minhyun's bed. Minhyun sat next to the young prince, waiting for him to continue. 

"What do you want me to do?" 

"Help me kill Seongwoo hyung." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> won't be update for about three or four days since i'll be busy. i'll make it up by posting a really long chapter next. comment below and tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i am finally back with an update, sorry for the wait!   
> anyway we're getting closer and closer to the end.   
> hope you guys enjoyed the fic so far!
> 
> and, just like always, sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes lol

Seongwoo paced nervously outside of his father's chambers. The king had requested his presence nearly two hours ago, but Seongwoo was too nervous to face him. His father already knew of Jaehwan's disappearence and the oldest prince believed that was the reason why the king wanted to speak to him. 

"Hurry up and talk to father! You know how much he hates waiting." Daehwi whispered as he walked by with Woojin right behind him. Seongwoo glared at his youngest brother, envious of the fact that he could get away with doing anything. Daehwi was their father's favorite child and they had a very close relationship. 

Seongwoo took a deep breath in and finally knocked on his father's door. He exhaled slowly when his father's voice called him in. As he opened the door, he heard his father coughing loudly. Seongwoo winced at the sound but quickly entered the room. 

"Where is Jaehwan?" His father asked with a loud voice. Seongwoo looked down at the floor as he approached his father's bed. He made no move to look into his father's eyes. 

"I don't know, father. He apparently disappeared in the middle of the night. His servant is missing as well." Seongwoo replied, biting his lip nervously. 

He and his father didn't have a very good relationship. Even though he was the oldest prince and the heir to the throne, his father never gave him any special treatment. In fact, his father seemed to dote on Jaehwan and Daehwi a bit more, which made Seongwoo slightly jealous. However, Seongwoo just believed that their father did that because Jaehwan and Daehwi were never going to become king. 

"Find Jaehwan. I don't care how many knights you have to use, but you need to find him. If you can't find him within today, I'll be requesting the neighboring kingdoms to help as well. Go, you may leave now." 

Seongwoo nodded his head and quickly left his father's room. As he closed the door behind him, he couldn’t help but frown.  

He had no idea where to start on his search for Jaehwan. 

X 

"What's the future like?" Jonghyun asked as he poured tea into three cups. He was in the servant's kitchen with Minki, Daniel, and Jisung. Seongwoo had left his royal adviser in charge of their wellbeing for the moment. 

"Super fun and bright. They have these moving vehicles called cars. They're much faster compared to riding horses." Minki replied as he sipped his tea. He scrunched his nose cutely when he realized the tea was still hot. 

"Shouldn't we be trying to figure out where Minhyun went? And Seongwoo said his brother was missing too, right?" Jisung's legs bounced nervously under the table they were sitting at. Minki sighed and patted his leg, trying to calm him down. 

"We need to come up with a plan first, hyung. We can't just search the entire world for them." 

" _Yes, we can_." 

"Jisung hyung, Minki is right. We're not from this time, so if we just go out and start searching, there's a possibility we might mess up the future." Daniel said softly. He stared down at his tea and sighed as well. 

"I think Jaehwan and Guanlin are with Minhyun. They all disappeared at the same time, so it can't be a coincidence." Jonghyun thought outloud. He glanced over at Minki who nodded his head, agreeing with the royal adviser. 

"Is it possible they somehow time travelled back to the future?" Jisung asked, frowning slightly at the thought of his brother falling from the sky again. 

"I highly doubt it. Do you know how much magic that would take? Minhyun can't even use magic." Minki said as he let out a haughty laugh. He knew Minhyun was capable of using magic, but that didn't mean that he could time travel. 

"Jaehwan and Guanlin can't use magic as well. Time travelling is impossible unless you're a witch or have the magic abilities of a first born child." Jonghyun explained, causing Jisung and Daniel to become confused. 

"What do you mean by first born child?" Daniel asked, tilting his head. He was still having a hard time grasping onto the concept of magic. 

"In this time, almost all first born children have the ability to use magic. That's why Seongwoo, the oldest prince, can use magic abilities. Witches, regardless of their birth order, can also use magic as they please." Jonghyun continued on, staring at Jisung and Daniel to see if they understood him. 

"So technically, I should have magic abilities since I'm the first born? But then again, Minki said I'm a descendent of witches, so I would have had magic abilities anyway." Jisung asid, pointing to himself.  

Daniel pouted slightly when he realized he had no chance of using magic. He was the second born son, so his older brother, Aron, probably had the magic abilities. 

"If you were born in this time, yes, you would have had magic abilities. In the future, I noticed that magic was almost phased out. Magic is hard to find in the future because no one ever uses it." Minki replied, waving his hand around. He was actually disappointed in the lack of magic use in the future.  

"Anyway, back to what we were originally talking about... It's absolutely impossible that they time traveled to the future. Those three just aren't capable of it." Jonghyun sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was beginning to run out of options. 

"So just where exactly did they go?" 

X 

"You cannot be serious. He's your brother!" Minhyun glared at Jaehwan and quickly stood up. As he was about to leave the room, Jaehwan grabbed his wrist again. 

"Okay, maybe I overreacted. I don't want him dead, but I need him off the throne. Do you know how devastated he would be if he heard the truth?" Jaehwan exclaimed loudly. Minhyun quickly used his free hand to cover the prince's mouth. 

"You're going to wake up Seonho if you yell like that." 

"I apologize, but I seriously need your help. I need Seongwoo hyung off that throne because a war is about to occur in the past. Seongwoo's birthmother is from the neighboring kingdom that is full of witches. They have been planning an attack ever since Seongwoo's birthmother died." Jaehwan explained, clinging onto Minhyun's arm. The prince seemed desperate for help. 

"How do you know about all of this?" Minhyun asked softly, sitting back down on the bed. 

"Mother told me in her premonition before. She was also the first born in her family and she was always good at predicting the future. The only time she was ever wrong was when she thought she would never have a child." Jaehwan chuckled sadly, thinking of his mother. He loved her dearly and believed that it was his fault for being born. If only Seongwoo was her only child, then things would have turned out alright. However, both Jaehwan and Daehwi's birth seemed to cause problems. 

"Are you trying to tell me that I need to go back to the past to help you?"  

Jaehwan quickly shook his head, causing Minhyun to let out a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to time travel again.  

"I'll need a few days to recuperate my magic to travel back, but in the meantime, can we go out and search for a piece of pure silver? That's what I'll be able to use to concentrate your magic. Also, I might need a mirror to communicate with you." Jaehwan explained, confusing Minhyun a bit. 

"How will we communicate with a mirror?" Minhyun asked as he decided to lay in his own bed. He was getting more and more tired as the conversation went on.  

"I know a chant that show your face on the mirror... I don't know how to explain it though." Jaehwan yawned and stared at Minhyun, whose eyes were closing very slowly. 

"Ah.. So like a video... chat..." Minhyun dozed off as his eyes finally closed. He had fallen asleep, causing Jaehwan to smile a bit. The prince carefully moved to lay down next to Minhyun, trying his best not to wake him up. 

"Goodnight, Minhyun hyung. I hope you dream of wonderful things."  

X 

Seonho had always been an early riser, much to his mother's dismay. Even when he was just an elementary student, he would be awake two hours earlier than his parents. So it was no surprise when Seonho woke up at 6AM, but he was surprised at the fact that he was still in Minhyun's apartment. 

"Ah, I must have fallen asleep here." The high school student rubbed his eyes sleepily as he took a look at his surroundings.  

He had fallen asleep on the living room floor, but someone had covered him with a blanket. Seonho turned to his right and saw someone sleeping on the couch. He crawled over, too lazy to actually stand up, and simply stared at the sleeping person on the couch. He squinted slightly, leaning in to take a better look at whoever was sleeping on the couch. 

"Guanlin, wake up!" Seonho suddenly exclaimed, immediately awakening the sleeping servant. Guanlin rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Seonho just grinned and poked Guanlin a few times. 

"Is it morning? What time is it? Where's Prince Jaehwan?" Guanlin mumbled out as he rubbed his eyes. It took him a few moments to realize that Seonho had woken him up.  

"It's morning, but I don’t know where Jaehwan hyung is. He's my hyung, right? He's from the past, so he's technically older than me..." Seonho replied as he quickly took Guanlin's spot on the couch.  

Guanlin stared at Seonho, who just smiled back innocently. Guanlin wasn't sure whether or not he could trust the young boy, but he seemed harmless. 

"Are you hungry?" Seonho suddenly asked, tilting his head to the side. Guanlin blinked and nodded his head slowly. 

"Alright, let's go! Jisung hyung always has good food in the kitchen because he wants Minhyun hyung to eat a lot." Seongho grabbed Guanlin's hand, dragging him back into the apartment's kitchen. The young servant sat down at the table, watching as Seonho grabbed a box from the top of a strange metal box that confused Guanlin a bit. 

"What's that thing?" Guanlin asked, pointing at the strange metal box. 

"This? Oh, this is a fridge. It keeps food cold so that it doesn't spoil." The high schooler explained as he grabbed milk from the fridge. Guanlin stayed still in his seat, not quite sure what to do. Seonho went over to the cabinet and took out two bowls, setting them on the table in front of Guanlin.  

"What are we eating?" The young servant asked, staring blankly at the two bowls. Seonho began pouring food into the bowls before pouring milk as well. 

"This is called cereal! It's something people typically eat for breakfast. They're like rice puffs, I guess." Seonho pouted his lips slightly, unable to full explain what cereal was. He loved food, but having to describe food was a difficult task. 

"Do I just eat it with the spoon? Is it like a soup?" Guanlin asked when Seonho handed him a spoon. Seonho was thankful he didn’t have to explain what a spoon was.  

"Yeah, eat it like a soup, don’t forget to chew though!" Seonho just smiled once more and sat across from Guanlin at the table. The two ate quietly together, with Seonho taking occasional glances at the young servant across him. He had so many questions, but he knew not to invade Guanlin's privacy.  

"Do you always drool so much in your sleep?" 

"No, I don't! I fell asleep with my mouth open. Forget that ever happened." 

Seonho and Guanlin both turned their heads as Minhyun and Jaehwan walked into the kitchen. Seonho stared at his tutor, sensing something different about him. 

"Did you guys sleep together?" He asked bluntly, looking back and forth between Minhyun and Jaehwan. 

Minhyun blushed slightly, not quite sure how to answer the teenager's question. 

"He means if we slept next to each other, right?" Jaehwan asked Minhyun, who just nodded.  

"I accidentally fell asleep next to him. Don't get jealous." Minhyun gently ruffled up Seonho's hair as he started to pour a bowl of cereal for himself as well. 

"What's this?" The second prince asked softly as he took a seat next to his servant.  

"It's cereal, your highness. Seonho said we eat it like soup." Guanlin offered some of his cereal to Jaehwan who shook his head. Minhyun passed an already full bowl over to him instead. 

"What are you guys going to do now?" The high schooler asked as he finished his first bowl of cereal. He quickly refilled his bowl, causing Minhyun to chuckle. Seonho ate more than Minhyun, Minki, and Jisung combined. 

"We need to rest for a few days. It took a lot of magic to come back here and it'll take even more for me to get back home. I need to gather supplies as well." Jaehwan explained as he ate his food. He wasn’t quite sure what he was eating, but it was sweet and tasted good.  

"I can take you guys out later, but you should probably wear some clothes that are of this time." Minhyun said, smiling at the thought of Jaehwan and Guanlin walking around in their old clothing. 

"Will anything fit us? You're taller than both of us." Jaehwan said, slightly jealous of how tall Minhyun was. 

"You can borrow my brother's clothes since he's a bit shorter than I am."  

Minhyun quickly excused himself to go get clothes for his guests. Guanlin was closer to his own height, so he didn't have to worry about getting him clothes. He went into his room and chose a random pair of jeans, hoping they would fit.  

"Guanlin, why don't you try these jeans on?" 

Both Guanlin and Jaehwan took a closer look at the pants that Minhyun was holding. They were just simple blue jeans, something quite normal for Minhyun and Seonho. However, nearly everything in the future would confuse Jaehwan and Guanlin. 

"Are these just pants? What's this thing here?" Guanlin asked as he played with the zipper. Seonho tried his best not to laugh at the young servant's innocence. 

"That's called a zipper. It keeps the pants up and around your hips. Why don't you go into the bathroom and try them on. Just call me if you need any help." Minhyun smiled and lead Guanlin over to the bathroom, closing the door for him. 

"Hyung, shouldn't he use underwear?" Seonho asked when his tutor returned to the kitchen. 

"Ah, you're right!"  

The high school student watched as Minhyun quickly ran back into his room to get some clean underwear for Guanlin. If explaining clothes took this long for Guanlin, Seonho had no idea how the young servant would be like when he went outside.  

The future would be very overwhelming for both Jaehwan and Guanlin. 

X 

"Do you think it's possible that the witch took Jaehwan hyung and Guanlin to the future?" 

"I highly doubt that, your highness." 

"You say you doubt it, but I think you actually think I'm right." 

"Prince Daehwi, we've known each other for a very long time and during that time, you've been correct about something just three times."  

"You're so mean, Dongho hyung." 

The youngest prince was pouting his lips slightly as he watched the knight sharpen his sword. They were in the back garden of the castle, sitting together under a tree. Woojin had told Daehwi that he had to collect some herbs from the forest and rather than bring the prince with him, Woojin had left him with Dongho. 

"Prince Seongwoo is probably feeling very pressured right now. Even though Jaehwan is just the second prince, he's still royalty, which means we have to find him fast. Minki should be able to help us though, since he's a witch with good tracking abilities." Dongho said as he thought of the young witch. He had known Minki ever since Jonghhun had introduced them to each other a few years ago. They were friends, but they weren't close. 

"That witch is really pretty..." Daehwi thought outloud as he started picking out pieces of grass from the ground. Dongho quickly noticed and grabbed his hand, stopping the prince. 

"Don't pull out the grass." Dongho scolded, patting Daehwi's hand softly. 

Daehwi just smiled at the knight before nodding his head. He stopped pulling out the grass and stared down at the hand that Dongho had grabbed. 

"Do you see that in the sky?" Dongho said as he suddenly stood up. Daehwi followed his gaze and blinked when he saw something quickly approaching them.  

Dongho readied his sword in front of Daehwi, preparing himself to protect the prince. Daehwi cowered behind him with his eyes closed and hands over his ears. The young prince was easily frightened by actual fighting. 

As it came closer, Dongho could see that it was actually a person that was approaching them. It was a person riding on what seemed to be a broom, which only meant one thing.  

It was a witch. 

"Move out of the way! Move out of the way!" The person called out as he waved his arms around. Dongho quickly grabbed Daehwi and pulled him out of the way. The witch ended up colliding with the tree and Dongho winced at the sound of impact. 

"Are you okay?!" The knight called out as he ran back over to the tree to check on the witch. 

"I think I'm okay!" The witch replied as he stood up, revealing his face. 

"Sewoon, is that you?" Dongho blinked when he saw the familiar face.  

"Dongho hyung! Long time no see!" Sewoon quickly ran over to the knight, giving him a tight hug. Daehwi frowned as he watched the witch hug Dongho. He had no idea who he was, but he already didn't like him. 

"Who's that?" Daehwi asked, not bothering to hide his frown. 

"Ah, it's nice to meet you, your highness. My name is Sewoon and I'm an old friend of Dongho hyung's." Sewoon just smiled as he kept his arm around Dongho's shoulder. Daehwi tried his best not to glare. 

"Why did you fly out here? And why are you horrible at magic?" Dongho asked Sewoon, almost completely forgetting about Daehwi's presence.  

Dongho had a few relatives that lived in Sewoon's hometown. Whenever the knight had a chance, he would visit his relatives and also Sewoon since they were close in age. However, when Sewoon's family kicked him out for being a witch, Dongho had lost touch with him. It had been a few years since they had actually seen each other before. 

"Using magic is hard and I still need a lot of practice. But anyway, I need you to bring me to Minki hyung! I know he's at the castle and there's an emergency I need to tell him about." Sewoon exclaimed loudly. 

"What emergency?" 

"Witches are planning an attack against this kingdom. They're planning on killing the king and his sons." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment below and tell me what you think! and follow me on twitter! i'll always accept questions about the fic there as well.  
> my next fic is yongguk-centric and spoiler alert! it's about working in retail. look forward to that coming out soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for taking so long to update fnskjfnskjf i get stuck sometimes heh  
> a couple more chapters left to go before the end!
> 
> and as always, this is probably has grammar and spelling mistakes.

Daniel was the type of person to be easily amused, no matter what the situation was. Minhyun had often complained about how Daniel could never keep a straight face, even if he was being scolded. It was one of his charming points, but it was often very annoying for his friends.  

"So this is a portrait of the royal family?" Daniel asked, a small smile growing on his lips as he looked at the painting. It was slightly outdated, so the three princes looked to be small children.  

"That was them when they were children, yes." Jonghyun chuckled as he stared up at the painting as well. He was just a lowly servant when he was a child, so he didn't really know the three princes when they were younger. He had heard many stories from other servants that had helped raise them and the three princes were definitely a handful as children. Seongwoo was known to be a spoiled brat, since he was the first prince. Jaehwan was quiet and usually stuck by his mother's side. Meanwhile, Daehwi had been attached to his father ever since he was born. 

"Where exactly are you taking us?" Jisung asked as they followed Jonghyun down the hallway. Seongwoo had decided to let the three roam throughout the castle. 

"I'll be taking you to the library for now. Minki wants to look at some of the old magic books that we have there. He might be able to track down Prince Jaehwan, Guanlin, and also Minhyun." Jonghyun replied as he glanced at the witch that was silently walking next to him. 

"Can we take a look around as well?" Daniel asked, feeling slightly curious about the castle's library.  

"That shouldn't be a problem. Just don't make too much noise." Jonghyun said as he stopped at a wide door. He opened it and revealed the castle's small library. Books were a luxury for people in this time, but the royal family had a decent collection of books. 

"The magic books are still in the back, right?" Minki asked when he stepped into the library. He had been in the library a few times before when he would visit Jonghyun. 

"All the way in the back on the left shelves. Same place as always." Jonghyun smiled at Minki, causing Jisung to clear his throat. Even though the two had not said anything specific about their relationship, Jisung could tell that something was going on between them. 

"Daniel and I will go around the castle, if that's alright with you. I don't think we should get in the way of Minki and his reading." Jisung quickly linked his arms with Daniel, dragging him back out into the hallway before Jonghyun could call them back. The two wandered down the hallway, spotting a door that led out of the castle and to what seemed to be a tombstone. 

"Is this a grave...?" Daniel asked as he took a closer look at the memorial.  

"It looks like one." Jisung replied. He closed his eyes and bowed at the tombstone, paying his respects. 

"Thank you for bowing towards mother. She probably would have thought you two were cute." A voice suddenly called from behind them. 

Daniel and Jisung quickly turned around and saw the oldest prince standing back by the door. He had his hands in his pocket, looking extremely relaxed and casual. 

"Hello, Prince Seongwoo." Jisung smiled, trying to be friendly with the prince. They didn't have the greatest first impression, but Jisung knew that he and Seongwoo were going through similar situations. Both of their younger brothers were missing and it almost seemed impossible that they would find them. 

"Hello, your name was Jisung, if I remember correctly?" Seongwoo asked, looking right at Jisung who nodded in reply. 

"And then this fellow that dared to grab me was Daniel." Seongwoo continued on, moving his gaze towards the other young man. Daniel just smiled at the prince, nodding his head as well. He wanted to be nice to the prince, since he knew how stressed he probably was. 

"I just wanted to stop you from hitting Minki. I didn't mean any disrespect." Daniel replied, however Seongwoo just stared back at him for a moment.  

"Daniel, I'm just going to find a bathroom. I'll be back soon." Jisung said softly as he walked back into the castle, leaving the first prince alone with Daniel. 

"Is there any word on how we can find your brother and Minhyun?" Daniel asked as he took a seat on a bench that was facing the memorial. Seongwoo let out a heavy sigh and took a seat next to him. 

"Not yet. I think it may be impossible for us to find them." Seongwoo sighed once more and stared at the ground. He was slowly running out of options and he knew his father would never forgive him if he was unable to find Jaehwan. 

"Don't think like that! You have to stay positive!" Daniel exclaimed as he gently pat the prince's knee, trying to reassure him. Seongwoo just smiled, still looking at the ground.  

"I'm trying to stay positive, but I honestly just don't know where my brother is. I'm sorry."  

"We just need to trust in Minki to find them. He's working really hard, you know." Daniel replied, thinking of the witch.  

"I don't know if I can trust him though. I mean, he's a  _witch_." Seongwoo said, frowning as he said witch. He still felt uncomfortable with having a witch inside of the castle, even though Minki was harmless. 

"You may know him as a witch, but I know him as Choi Minki and he would never hurt someone on purpose. He really cares about Jisung and Minhyun and he just wants to make everything right again."  

Seongwoo let out another sigh, causing Daniel to pat his knee again. The prince wasn't exactly sure why Daniel was being so kind, even though Seongwoo had mistreated him when they first met. It was a shame that Daniel was from the past, because Seongwoo definitely wanted to get to know him better. 

"Your highness! Prince Seongwoo!" A voice suddenly called out from the castle. Seongwoo quickly turned around and saw Dongho and Daehwi running towards him. Daehwi ran ahead of the knight and jumped onto his older brother, giving him a tight hug. 

"Daehwi, what's wrong?!" Seongwoo asked as his brother just hugged him tighter. He and Daehwi weren't that close with each other, but Seongwoo could tell that something was definitely wrong. 

"Witches are gathering from the Eastern Kingdom to come and attack us. They're planning on killing the royal family." Dongho said with his head bowed towards the prince. 

"And how exactly do you know this?" Seongwoo said as he tried his best to calm Daehwi down. Daehwi had a tendency to take threats to heart, which meant he was truly scared now.  

"One of Minki's friends overheard a few witches that were travelling through his hometown. He rushed over here as soon as he heard." Dongho explained quickly. He glanced over at Daniel, who seemed to be confused as well. 

"We need to have a meeting. Gather Minki and his friend and bring him into the olden throne room. I'll be waiting there with father." Seongwoo quickly took Daehwi's hand, dragging him back into the castle. The youngest prince turned to glance back at Dongho, who just nodded his head. 

"Let's go, Daniel. You guys need to be in the meeting as well." Daniel stood up and followed Dongho back into the castle. Things were getting more and more complicated as they continued to stay in the past, so Daniel was starting to become worried over how the future would be affected.  

He could only hope things would still be the same when he returned home. 

 _If_  he could return home. 

X 

"So what is this place called again?" 

"Jaehwan, for the third time, this is called a mall. It's basically a bunch of small stores that are put together. We'll be able to find what you need here." Minhyun sighed as he explained what a mall was. Jaehwan had so many questions and it was getting harder for Minhyun to answer them all. 

"There's a lot of people here. Are they all shopping?" Guanlin said from Seonho's side. The high schooler had insisted that they link arms together so that they don't get lost. Minhyun was glad Seonho wasn't clinging onto him instead.  

"Yeah, or they're just here to hang out." Minhyun said as he looked around for the store he wanted to go to. There was a small furniture store that sold mirrors of various sizes and Minhyun knew that it would be the perfect store for Jaehwan to look at. 

"Oh, I see some of my classmates. Let's say hi!" Seonho exclaimed as he dragged Guanlin off in a different direction. Minhyun and Jaehwan tried to keep up with the teenager's steps, but he was too fast for them. 

"Seonho, slow down!" Minhyun called out from behind Seonho, who didn't seem to hear him.  

"Is he always this enthusiastic?" Jaehwan asked as he grabbed Minhyun's arm to keep up with him. 

"Unfortunately, yes." 

Minhyun and Jaehwan stood off to the side as Seonho said hello to a few of his classmates. He had introduced Guanlin to them, saying he was his friend from abroad. Minhyun tried his best not to laugh at Guanlin's confused expression. The young servant just smiled and nodded whenever he was spoken to. He wasn't quite used to being around so many strangers. 

"Seonho, let's go. We need to get the Jaehwan's things." Minhyun called out, causing all of the high school students to look in his direction. It took the students a moment to recognize him, but they immediately smiled when they realized who he was. 

"Oppa! It's nice to see you again." A girl quickly approached Minhyun, bowing her head slightly. Minhyun just smiled in reply. 

"It's nice to see you as well. Are your studies going well?" Minhyun asked, still smiling at the student. Jaehwan just stared blankly at the girl, not quite sure about how he felt at the moment. There was a part of him that wanted the girl to just leave, but another part of him wanted to know how Minhyun and the girl knew each other. 

"Yes, I'm passing all of my classes this semester. Thank you so much for helping me study for my English exams!" The girl replied, smiling brightly. She bowed once more before walking back over to her friends. 

As she walked away, Jaehwan exhaled slowly. He didn't know when exactly he had started to hold his breath, but he was glad he finally remembered to breathe. 

"Are you okay?" Minhyun asked, placing his hand on Jaehwan's shoulder. The second prince glanced up at Minhyun before nodding his head. He wasn't quite sure what emotion had come over him.  

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Jaehwan said softly as he avoided Minhyun's stare.  

Minhyun definitely didn't believe Jaehwan, but he knew better than to bother the prince. Seonho and Guanlin finally walked back over to them after Seonho had said goodbye to his classmates. 

"You have a lot of friends, don't you?" Guanlin said, still attached to Seonho. 

"Not really. They're just my classmates, so I'm friendly with them. We're not all necessarily friends." Seonho smiled at Guanlin, before turning to Minhyun. 

"Okay, let's go look for that mirror now!"  

Minhyun led the way towards the small furniture store that sold mirrors. He grabbed Jaehwan's wrist and brought him inside, forgetting about the two younger boys that were with them. Jaehwan hummed softly as he took a look at all of the mirrors. He needed to find a mirror that was easy to hold in his hand so that he would be able to communicate with Minhyun from the past. 

"What about this one?" Minhyun asked as he held up a small compact mirror.  

"That was is too small. I need one with a handle so that I can hold onto it properly." Jaehwan replied as he took a closer look at the mirror. 

Minhyun sighed as he looked at the various mirrors. He had no idea how Jaehwan would use the mirror to communciate with him, but he could tell that Jaehwan was going to be picky about which mirror to use. 

"I found the perfect mirrior!" Jaehwan exclaimed when he spotted a mirror to use. Minhyun turned and saw that the prince was holding up a mirror by its silver handle. Luckily enough, Jaehwan was able to find another one of the same mirror.  

"Is this alright? It looks like the handle is pure silver." Minhyun said as he took the other mirror, looking at it closely. 

"I think you're right. I could probably use this silver to concentrate your magic as well." Jaehwan smiled at Minhyun and the two went over to the cashier to pay for the mirror. Jaehwan didn't have any money,  but Minhyun didn't mind having to pay for the mirrors. Jaehwan just stared as the cashier scanned a barcode and told them the total. 

"How did he do that? What is that?" Jaehwan whispered to Minhyun, who just chuckled at Jaehwan's curiosity.  

Minhyun handed the cashier his credit card and finished his payment. Jaehwan stared in awe of the small plastic card when Minhyun placed it back into his wallet.  

"There's a lot of things about the future that are different from the past. I kind of wish you could hang around to see them all, but..." Minhyun trailed off, thanking the cashier when they were handed the bag holding the mirrors. Jaehwan took the bag and bowed slightly to thank the cashier.  

"I wonder what life would have been like if I lived in the future."  Jaehwan said quietly, holding the bag close to him. Minhyun smiled at the thought of Jaehwan living in the future. 

"It would be nice. We would be able to spend time together." Minhyun replied. The two walked out of the store and saw Seonho and Guanlin waiting for them. The high schooler and the young servant were apparently playing rock, paper, scissors.  

"Why does paper beat rock?" 

"Because rock  _covers_  the paper!" 

"But can't the rock weigh down on paper? It's heavier." 

"That's not how the game works!" 

Minhyun gently patted Seonho's head when he approached the two. Jaehwan followed behind him, still thinking about what his life would be like if he left the past to live in the future. The thought was tempting, but he couldn't just leave his family behind. He had to get back to them soon. 

X 

Daehwi nervously chewed on his bottom lip as he sat on his throne. The king's chair was in the middle and Seongwoo's was on his right side. Normally, Jaehwan would be on the king's left side and Daehwi would be seated next to him, however Jaehwan's chair was currently empty. The throne room they were in was known as the olden throne room, because this was where the king would reside. Seongwoo's throne room for when he would become king was on the opposite side of the castle.  

"So you're trying to tell me that the witches are planning to attack us?" The king said as he let out a cough. Daehwi frowned when he heard his father's sickly voice. It was clear the king was getting worse. 

"Yes, your highness. I am a witch myself and my source comes from the Eastern Kingdom of witches. I believe the royal family is in grave danger." Sewoon said. He and Minki both knelt before the royal family. Jisung and Daniel stood silently, near the door with Dongho and Woojin. Jonghyun stood behind the two witches, closer to the royal family. 

"And why exactly do they plan on killing us?"  

"It's for revenge, your highness. They want revenge for when Prince Seongwoo burned one of their own at the stake." Sewoon replied, looking down at the floor.  

"Ah, you mean the witch that killed my wife. She deserved to burn at the stake..." The king said, glancing over at the oldest prince. Seongwoo said nothing and just stared straight ahead.  

"Their attack is expected to be in four days, your highness. However, there has been talk that they may be moving it back so that they can prepare themselves. I expect a full on magic attack." Sewoon explained, sharing all of the information he was able to obtain. 

The king just sighed and nodded his head before looking over at Dongho, "Ready the royal knights. I want royal knights at every single entrance of the castle. Dongho, keep watch on Daehwi and find another knight to stay with Seongwoo. I'm still worried about Jaehwan, but I can only hope my son is somewhere safe."  

Dongho bowed to the king when he heard his orders. The king waved his hand, dismissing everyone on in the room. Sewoon and Minki stood up and quickly left the room with Daniel, Jisung and Woojin. Seongwoo and Daehwi stayed in their seats, waiting to be personally dismissed. They knew better than to leave before their father let them. 

"Daehwi, make sure to stay in your room. Dongho and Woojin will be there to protect you. You may leave now." The king said, dismissing his youngest son. Daehwi stood up from his chair and bowed at his father before leaving the throne room. The king and oldest prince were left alone together in the room. 

"Seongwoo, you need to learn the truth about your birth."  

Seongwoo's eyes widened slightly as he turned to face his father. The king wasn't looking in his direction, so there was no way for Seongwoo to make eye contact with him. 

"What do you mean, father? I'm your son." 

"I raised you, but you aren't my son. You don't have my blood or my wife's blood running through you." The king let out another cough before standing up from his throne. Seongwoo only stared at his father in shock, unable to say anything. He couldn't quite understand what his father was talking about.  

"You're a witch, Seongwoo... and that witch you burned years ago was your birth mother." 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comment below and tell me what you think! also thank you so much who has left a comment and/or kudos! this fic has been a learning process for me, but i'm glad to have such positive reviews. hopefully i dont let you all down with the ending : )
> 
> and also i changed my twitter un! it's now @/nuestology


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next update will take a few more days than usual because i'll be out of town for a bit. sorry in advance! 
> 
> grammar mistakes and spellings mistakes are everywhere but i tried my best to clean it up. it was almost 4am when i finished this.

"No, no, you're lying to me. You're lying to me father." Seongwoo kept shaking his head as his father slowly walked out of the throne room. The king said nothing to him and he continued to walk out. 

"Father, wait! Come back! Tell me the truth." Seongwoo rushed after the king, grabbing onto his father's arm. He could feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes as his father ignored him. He fell to his knees, still grasping his father's arm. The king made no move to look at the prince. 

"The truth? I told you the truth. You're a witch, Seongwoo and you aren't my son. My wife, the woman you thought was your mother, took you away from your real mother when you were an infant." The king explained before pushing the prince off of his arm. Seongwoo let out a frustrated shout at his father, still not understanding everything. 

"That witch you burned at the stake was your birthmother, Seongwoo. You aren't part of the royal family and at this rate, I don't think you'll inherit the throne." The king continued on before making his ways towards the door to leave the room. 

Seongwoo was left alone in the throne room to think about everything the king had just told him. Even though nothing made sense to him, Seongwoo knew that the king would never lie about something like this.   

The oldest prince stood up with tears still in his eyes. He quickly left the throne room with heavy steps, determined to settle the truth. He walked through the castle, not stopping whenever a servant tried to speak to him. He could feel the tears falling from his eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to wipe them away. 

He needed the absolute truth and he needed it now. 

X 

"Is he going to eat  _again_?"  

"Seonho eats five meals a day, so yes, he's going to eat again. I think he wants to let Guanlin try ice cream before you return to the past."  

Minhyun just smiled as Seonho and Guanlin walked into an ice cream shop that was near Minhyun's apartment complex. Minhyun and Jaehwan weren't that hungry, so they decided to wait outside of the ice cream shop for the younger boys.  

"So when exactly are you planning on returning to your time?" Minhyun asked softly as he stared down at Jaehwan. The prince reached into the bag he was holding and took out one of the mirrors. He looked at the mirror and let out a sigh. 

"Possibly tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I really wish I could stay longer, but I think the past will become hectic. I'm one of the few people that actually know the truth about my brother and I need to make sure nothing horrible happens." Jaehwan frowned before placing the mirror back in the bag. He wasn't sure if his abilities were strong enough to get him back home in time. He could only hope that Minhyun had enough hidden magic for him to use. 

"Maybe we should go out for a good dinner then. It would be fun for you to experience the future's food." Minhyun said when he noticed Seonho and Guanlin leaving the ice cream shop. Seonho was holding a cone with two scoops of chocolate ice cream while Guanlin had a cup of vanila ice cream with various candy toppings. 

"Your highness, would you like to try some?" Guanlin held out his spoon for the prince to take, but Jaehwan just shook his head. 

"You can just call me Jaehwan hyung, Guanlin. In this time, I'm just a normal person." Jaehwan smiled and the four of them made their way back to Minhyun's apartment. It was only the afternoon, so they had a few hours before they would go to dinner. 

"Seonho, did you want to come with us for dinner tonight?" Minhyun asked, turning his head to look at the high schooler who was trying to get Guanlin to share his ice cream. The young servant seemed to really enjoy the ice cream, so he wasn't sharing it at all. 

"Oh! Where are you guys going to eat?" Seonho grinned, already excited for dinner. 

"Let's have meat tonight. We can go to the one restaurant that Minki liked a lot." Minhyun said and Seonho simply nodded in reply. There was no way he was going to turn down a free dinner. 

"Speaking of Minki, did he like living in this time?" Jaehwan asked, looking at the cars that drove past him. Minhyun had explained what cars were to him a couple of hours ago but he was still curious as to how they actually worked. 

"Well, I was so convinced he was my cousin, I don't think I would have been able to tell that he was from the past. I think he liked living in the future. He seemed happy." Minhyun smiled at the thought of his cousin. It had been almost an entire week since he had last seen Minki and he really did miss him. 

Jaehwan just nodded his head as he listened to Minhyun speak. He could tell by the tone of Minhyun's voice that he was extremely fond of Minki.  

The four of them continued their walk back towards Minhyun's apartment. Occasionally, Guanlin would stop to stare at the shops that were alone the sidewalk. Minhyun couldn't help but smile at Guanlin's childlike innocence. Guanlin seemed as if he really wanted to know more about the future and Minhyun wished he could show him around more.  

"Is it alright if I meet you guys at the restuarant later tonight? I think I should probably head home first and tell my mom I'm going out for dinner." Seonho said as they reached Minhyun's apartment.  

"Yeah, go ahead. Just meet us in a couple of hours." Minhyun replied. Seonho waved at Guanlin and Jaehwan before walking off in the direction of his own home. Seonho lived down the street in another apartment complex, so it wouldn't take long for them to meet up again. 

"What are we going to do now?" Jaehwan asked as the three walked into the building. Guanlin rushed over to press the up button for the elevator.  

"Let's just hang out at home for a bit. We can try to do the magic thing you were talking about too." Minhyun said, stepping into the elevator when it arrived. Jaehwan and Minhyun closely followed after him. 

"You can press the 15th button, Guanlin." Minhyun said, letting the young servant press the button as well. Guanlin laughed softly and pressed the button for them. 

"He's always been easily amused. I'm not surprised he's happy over something like this." Jaehwan gently patted his servant's back, thinking his amusement was cute. 

"The future is such an interesting place. I wish we could stay here longer, but I know we should return home soon." Guanlin just smiled at Jaehwan and Minhyun and the two smiled back. 

Once the elevator reached the 15th floor, the three stepped out and walked over to Minhyun's apartment. Once inside, Guanlin quickly ran over to the bathroom.  

Jaehwan just sighed when his servant ran off, "Guanlin seriously never changes."  

"What do you mean?" Minhyun asked, tilting his head to the side.   

"He never tells anyone when he needs to go use the bathroom. He always waits until he has free time to go."  

Minhyun chuckled and went to go sit down on the couch. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, feeling a bit tired after being out all day. Though Minhyun kept his eyes closed, he could feel Jaehwan take a seat next to him. The prince sat back in silence before leaning his head on Minhyun's shoulder. Minhyun said nothing and just let the prince rest on him.  

"I'm really sorry for dragging you into this." Jaehwan said softly.  

"It's not your fault, you know. Everything was just an accident." Minhyun replied. He didn't blame Jaehwan at all, but he could tell that the prince felt guilty.  

"I'll try to make everything right again. I promise."  

X 

"Hyung, wait stop!"  

Daehwi covered his face with his arms as Seongwoo charged towards him. He didn't know what had come over the oldest prince, but Daehwi was unable to protect himself as his brother raised his fist to him. Woojin and Dongho had both stepped out for a moment to get a meal for Daehwi, leaving him alone in his room. 

"Seongwoo hyung, what's wrong?!" Daehwi shouted. Seongwoo said nothing and brought his fist down against Daehwi's cheek, punching the youngest prince.  

Daehwi's eyes started to tear up as he felt the sting of pain spreading throughout his face. There was no way he could beat Seongwoo, who had both magical abilities and physical strength, in a fight. However, he could do little to defend himself as well. Seongwoo managed to land a few more punches onto Daehwi's face before he was suddenly pulled off.  

"Prince Seongwoo, what are you doing?" A voice yelled out. Through the tears in his eyes, Daehwi could see Jonghyun and Woojin in the doorway. Dongho was the one that had pulled Seongwoo off of Daehwi.  

"Let go of me, Dongho." Seongwoo snarled out as the knight gripped onto his collar. Seongwoo was strong, but there was no way he had the strength to push Dongho away from him. 

"You are not allowed anywhere near Prince Daehwi. I don't care if you're brothers, but I'm not letting you touch him ever again." Dongho muttered, pushing Seongwoo towards the door. Woojin had rushed over to Daehwi to look over his injuries.  

The youngest prince had a giant bruise forming on his cheek and his bottom lip was bleeding. Daehwi was still crying, but Woojin wiped his tears away.  

"Prince Seongwoo, what's gotten into you?!" Jonghyun rushed into the room and separated Dongho from the prince. Seongwoo glared back at his royal assistant. 

"You knew, didn’t you?" Seongwoo raised his voice, surprising Jonghyun. It was very unlike Seongwoo to start yelling unless he was truly upset. 

"What are you even talking about?" Jonghyun asked, grabbing onto the prince's arm. Seongwoo grunted and shook him off.  

"What's going on?" Daniel, Jisung, Minki and Sewoon all appeared in the doorway as well. Jonghyun was leading them to a guest room when shouts were suddenly heard, so they followed Jonghyun towards Daehwi's room. 

"Give me your blood." Seongwoo said, looking straight at Daehwi. The youngest prince said nothing in reply, still confused about what his brother was talking about. 

"What are you saying now?" Jonghyun said, looking straight at the oldest prince. Jonghyun could tell that Seongwoo had been crying because his eyes were red.  

"I need to see if he's even my brother. Jaehwan isn't here, so Daehwi's blood will have to do!" Seongwoo shouted, pointing at Daehwi. 

"Of course he's your brother. He and Jaehwan are both your brothers." Dongho said, not quite understanding what Seongwoo was trying to say. 

"I'm not related to them! I'm a witch! I'm not even part of this damn royal family. It's all been a lie." Seongwoo fell to his knees and starting sobbing. Jonghyun knelt next to him and gently rubbed his back. The royal assistant wasn't sure where Seongwoo had heard the information, but he knew how to check whether or not it was true. 

"Minki, can you perform blood acts?" Jonghyun asked as he turned his head to face the witch. Minki nodded slowly and stepped into the room. 

"I'm going to need a decent amount of blood from both Seongwoo and Daehwi to do that." Minki said softly as he rolled up his sleeves.  

"I'm already bleeding!" Daehwi yelled out as he stood up. Woojin just sighed and took out the dagger that Dongho has given him. 

"If what Prince Seongwoo is saying is true, we really do need to test your blood. Look at your brother, he looks devastated. It will only hurt for a moment." Woojin said, calming the prince down.  

"B-But where will you cut me?" Daehwi said, covering his eyes with his hands.  

"Cut him somewhere where he won't bleed too much." Dongho said, walking over to the youngest prince.  

"We'll just cut your palm, okay? It will heal easy." Woojin said as he guided the prince over to Minki. Dongho took his sword out of its sheath and pointed it towards Seongwoo. 

"We need your blood as well."  

Seongwoo stood up and grabbed the blade of Dongho's sword with his bare hand. He winced at the pain when he squeezed the blade, successfully drawing blood.  

Minki watched as Woojin then made a cut along Daehwi's palm. The prince let out a soft cry, but Dongho patted his head gently to help him through the pain. Minki held his left hand out so Seongwoo, waiting for him to smear the blood onto his own palm. Once Seongwoo's blood was in his left palm, Minki raised his right hand over to the youngest prince. Daehwi smeared his blood onto Minki's other palm quickly and waited for Minki to perform his magic. 

"What is he about to do?" Daniel whispered to Sewoon. 

"He's about to perform a blood act. Basically, he's testing Prince Seongwoo and Prince Daehwi's blood for similarities and differences. If what Prince Seongwoo says is true and they aren't actually blood related, the blood will show a reaction. However, I'm not sure what kind of reaction the blood will show." Sewoon explained. Jisung nodded his head as he listened to the witch's explanation. Minki was going to perform something that was similar to a DNA test.  

Minki stood in the middle of the room and chanted softly to himself. His hands glowed red for a moment and he clapped them together twice, mixing the blood on his palms. His hands continued to glow red as the blood on his hands started to change color. Jonghyun's eyes widened as Minki's hands suddenly burst into flames.  

Sewoon rushed forward and chanted something as well. His hands glowed blue and he covered Minki's hands with his own, putting out the fire. Seongwoo stared in shock at the witch's burned hands. 

"It's true. Seongwoo and Daehwi's blood aren't similar at all... and he's truly a witch. The only type of blood that can actually burn this much is a witch's blood." Minki stared at the oldest prince with a small frown on his face.  

Seongwoo opened his mouth to say something, but quickly ran out of the room instead. He pushed Jisung and Daniel out of the way as he ran down the hallway. Daniel stared at the prince's retreating back, feeling a bit sad for the prince.  

"Prince Seongwoo, wait!" Jonghyun stood up to follow him, but Dongho grabbed his arm.  

"We ned an explanation for all of this." Dongho said and Jonghyun just sighed when he started to walk out of the room. 

"Let me calm down Seongwoo and I'll have him explain. Just treat Daehwi's injuries and we'll figure things out." 

"Can I come with you?"  

Jonghyun turned back around and saw Daniel staring at him.  

"And what could you possibly do to help the prince?" Jonghyun asked, feeling a bit suspicious of Daniel. 

"He just needs someone to talk to. You've known him almost all his life, so you may be a bit biased when you talk to him. I just want to help." Daniel said. Jonghyun could feel his sincerity, so he nodded his head.  

Jonghyun led the way towards Seongwoo's room. He had no idea what was going on in the prince's head, but he truly just wanted to make sure that the prince was okay. Even if Seongwoo was a witch, he was still part of the royal family. Even if Seongwoo wasn't blood-related to the royal family, Jonghyun still considered him to be part of the royal family.   

Jonghyun made a promise to serve and protect Seongwoo until his own death and he was determined to keep the promise no matter what. 

Even if it did mean that Jonghyun would have to betray the king.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you live in the US and are interested in a giveaway, come follow my twitter @nuestology! 
> 
> comment below and tell me what you think of this update. heh. also i would love to hear what you guys think will happen in the end!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS BEEN SO LONG IM SORRY;;; i was on vacation and then i got l a z y but here's chapter 10!   
> as always, grammar mistakes and spelling errors are everywhere. whoops.   
> comment below and tell me what you think! ; )

"Prince Seongwoo, are you okay?" Daniel knocked on the prince's bedroom door, trying to get a response. Jonghyun had left Daniel in front of the prince's room and had walked off. Daniel only assumed he went to figure out what to do in the current situation.

When Daniel heard no response, he decided that it wouldn't hurt to just enter the room without permission. He slowly opened the door, entering the room cautiously. Once inside, he saw Seongwoo staring out of his window. The prince seemed to be deep in thought because he made no move when Daniel entered his room.

"Prince Seongwoo, are you okay?" Daniel repeated his question as he closed the door behind him. He quietly approached the prince and placed his hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Seongwoo glanced at Daniel and just let out a sigh.

"No need to call me 'prince' anymore. You heard what Minki said earlier, didn’t you? I'm not even part of the royal family." Seongwoo replied, still staring out of the window. The people in the kingdom were still clueless about Seongwoo's true identity. He had to keep up with his appearance to make sure no one would notice was wrong. If the people found out, the royal family's reputation would be ruined. 

“You’re still a prince to me.” Daniel said softly, frowning at the prince. Seongwoo just rolled his eyes at the young man, not believing a word he said. 

“Your opinion means nothing to me, I hope you realize that." The prince said, staring back out of the window. 

"I think you need a hug." 

"What?"

Daniel said nothing before he wrapped his arms around the prince, giving him a tight hug.  He and the prince stayed silent for a few moments before the prince finally gave in, wrapping his arms around Daniel as well. Seongwoo wasn't exactly sure when he had started crying, but soon he was sobbing in Daniel's arms. He was getting more and more confused on what he should do. His entire life was a lie and there was no one for him to turn to for help. 

Daniel patted Seongwoo's back, giving the prince time to release all of the emotions he was feeling at the moment. Even though they would only be together for this moment, Daniel didn't want to let the prince go. Soon, he would have to return to the future but he wanted to make sure that the past would be okay. He wanted to make sure Seongwoo would be okay. 

X

Minhyun was sure that both Seonho and Guanlin had at least four stomachs. The three of them, including Jaehwan, were eating at a restaurant that was near Minhyun's apartment. Minki and Seonho were both fond of eating at this restaurant due to its meat and unlimited servings. Seonho and Guanlin were already eating their third bowl of rice and Minhyun had just ordered the fourth serving of meat. 

"Is this going to cost a lot of money?" Jaehwan said as he struggled with grilling the pork. 

"Luckily, no. It's an all you can eat restaurant, so as long we finish everything that we order, we'll be fine." Minhyun replied as he used his chopsticks to help Jaehwan cook the pork. The prince had never cooked before and had volunteered to grill the meat. Guanlin knew that it was a bad decision for the prince to make but he just let the prince do whatever he wanted to do.

"I've never left any leftovers before." Seonho said with a mouth full of food. Guanlin let out a high-pitched giggle, shocking everyone at the table.

"Are you having fun, Guanlin?" Jaehwan asked with a small smile on his face.

The servant nodded his head, smiling back at the prince. Minhyun chuckled at Guanlin's cute response, giving him a few more pieces of meat. They were all having a good time, but Minhyun knew that this would only last a few moments. Jaehwan and Guanlin had to return to the past soon and Minhyun needed his brother to come back to the future. 

Minhyun could never say it outloud, but he really did wish Jaehwan and Guanlin could stay. 

"Hyung, do you think I can sleep over again tonight? I'll sleep on the floor." Seonho asked, looking over at Minhyun while holding his plate out for more meat. Minhyun gave the high school student a few more pieces before nodding his head.

"Yeah, that's fine with me. You should spend as much time with Guanlin while you can because he'll be leaving tomorrow." 

"What time tomorrow will you be leaving?" Seonho asked softly.

"Tomorrow night. I want to make sure I have enough magic to return back home." Jaehean replied, handing Minhyun a few pieces of meat as well. Jaehwan noticed he wasn't eating that much compared to everyone else. If Minhyun had an empty stomach later, it would be hard for Jaehwan to manifest his magic.

"Okay, maybe I can show Guanlin around a few more places tomorrow too!" Seonho said as he turned to Guanlin, who nodded his head. 

"I want to see as much as the future as I can." Guanlin said, looking over at Jaehwan for permission. 

"Don't worry, I don't mind if you want to go out again tomorrow." Jaehwan smiled at his servant. Guanlin was still a young man with a lot of curiosity, so it wouldn't hurt for him to explore the future a bit more. 

The four of them continued on with their dinner, finishing all of the servings they had ordered. Minhyun paid for their meal, sighing a bit when he realized how much money he had spent on food. Eating with Seonho always cost him a lot of money, but he didn't mind that much because the high school student was just a kid.

Once they left the restaurant, Minhyun and Jaehwan lead the way back to the apartment. Seonho and Guanlin were walking behind them, walking a bit slower because Seonho kept pointing things out to Guanlin. They stopped to look at a water fountain, a traffic light, and a store that sold cell phones.

"So you can use this to communicate with someone far away?" Guanlin asked when Seonho handed him his cellphone. He touched the screen, letting out a sound of awe when the screen lit up. Seonho's wallpaper was a picture of him and Minki at school. Seonho smiled sadly at the picture before taking his phone back.

"You can call them or you can send them text messages for them to read." Seonho explained, showing off the contact list on his phone as well as the messages. 

"If only the past had something like this. Everything would be so much easier." Guanlin said, pouting slightly as he stared at the phone. The two continued on talking, trailing behind Jaehwan and Minhyun who were walking at a much faster pace. 

Minhyun turned to glance at the two, smiling once more at how close they had gotten. He hated the fact that Guanlin would eventually leave Seonho's side.

"Will you try to use my magic tonight with the mirrors?" Minhyun asked when they finally reached his apartment building. Jaehwan and Minhyun walked inside but waited by the elevator. They both knew Guanlin still wanted to press the button.

"Yeah, it would be best if we did it sooner than later. They say a person's magic ability is highest when they have energy. We just ate, so I guess now would be ideal." Jaehwan explained, watching as Guanlin rushed inside with Seonho. His servant quickly pressed the up button and the elevator doors opened. 

Once they reached Minhyun's apartment, the Seonho and Guanlin stared to prepare the living room for them to sleep in. This time, Seonho made sure to place a few blankets on the floor for him to sleep on. Guanlin took a few pillows from Minki's old room and handed them over to Seonho as well. 

As the two of them prepared the living room, Minhyun brought Jaehwan back to his room. Minhyun sat on his bed, waiting for Jaehwan to explain to him how the magic manifestation was done. Jaehwan sat down next to him, holding both of the mirrors in his hands. 

"I need a drop of your blood on the mirror. It'll seal your magic into it." Jaehwan explained as he handed Minhyun one of the mirrors. Minhyun stood up and walked over to the desk that was in his room. He grabbed a safety pin that was laying around and brought it back over to Jaehwan. The prince stared at it for a moment, taking a moment to realize that it had a needle. 

Jaehwan took a deep breath before pricking his thumb with the needle. As soon as the blood starting the seep through, Jaehwan smeared it on the mirror. He handed the pin back over to Minhyun, letting him do the exact same thing he did. Minhyun smeared his blood onto the mirror before running out of his room. Jaehwan stared at the door, waiting for Minhyun to return to the room. A few moments later, Minhyun walked back into his room holding a small box in his hands.

"What's that?" Jaehwan asked, staring at the small box.

"These are bandages. It'll soak up the blood." Minhyun said as he took out a bandage. He grabbed Jaehwan's bleeding thumb and quickly placed the bandage on it. Jaehwan smiled and thanked Minhyun softly. 

"Now, I want you to hold onto your mirror. I know you can't use magic, but try to concentrate all of your thoughts to the mirror. It'll feel strange, but I know you can do it." Jaehwan said, passing Minhyun's mirror back over to him. Minhyun held onto the handle and tried his best to concentrate.

Jaehwan held onto his own mirror and clapped his hands together. He started chanting softly, causing both of the mirrors to start glowing. Minhyun stared at the mirrors, not sure of what exactly was happening. 

"Keep concentrating. I need more magic." Jaehwan mumbled, already losing energy from using the magic. He had never tried to manifest magic before and had only read about it in books. If everything went smoothly, the mirrors would be able to send him home while also giving Jaehwan a chance to communicate with Minhyun. 

Minhyun closed his eyes and tried to concentrate even more. He knew how much Jaehwan was depending on him. The mirrors glowed softly for a few more moments before both Jaehwan and Minhyun lost focus and energy. 

Jaehwan was panting and sweating by the time the menifestation was over. He knew that it was going to be difficult, but he wasn't expecting to be this exhausted. Minhyun was also breathing heavily and it looked to Jaehwan as if Minhyun was going to pass out.

"Why don’t you just go to bed now? You look tired." Jaehwan suggested, taking back Minhyun's mirror. The blood on both mirrors had disappeared due to the manifestation. 

"Where will you sleep tonight?" Minhyun said, settling into his bed. He didn't mind if Jaehwan wanted to share his bed again.

"I'll be fine on the floor next to Seonho. Don’t worry about it, I don't mind." Jaehwan just smiled and sat at the edge of the bed, waiting for Minhyun to fall asleep. It only took a few minutes for Minhyun to fall asleep, which made Jaehwan chuckle a bit. 

The prince then started to search around Minhyun's room, looking for a piece of paper and something to write with. He quickly wrote what he needed to say and left it on the desk with Minhyun's mirror. He knew what he was about to do was probably a horrible decision, but it was the decision that he had to make.

Jaehwan slowly walked over to Minhyun's bed, smiling softly at the sight of Minhyun sleeping peacefully. Minhyun had such a calm and peaceful look on his face when he was asleep. 

"Thank you for everything, Minhyun hyung." Jaehwan said softly before leaning in, kissing Minhyun's forehead. Jaehwan had fallen for Minhyun in the short time that they had known each other, but he knew that they weren't meant to be. Jaehwan had his own problems to deal with in the past and he didn't want to involve Minhyun any further. 

"And please, take care of Guanlin for me." Jaehwan whispered as tears finally started to form in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away and left the room. He walked over to the living room, smiling sadly at the sight of Guanlin sleeping on the couch. The prince made his way over to the young servant, gently patting his head. He didn't want to wake Guanlin, so he said goodbye quietly.

"Live a happy life, my friend."

Jaehwan then left the living room, walking into the kitchen. It was a quiet night which meant traveling back to the past would be easy. He held his mirror in his hands and stared into his reflection before he started to chant. The magic that he manifested from both Minhyun and himself was more than enough to send him back home. If the magic is used properly, Jaehwan would also be able to send Minhyun's brother back home as well.

Moments later, Jaehwan's body began to shine brightly due to the magic enveloping his body. He kept chanting, not losing his focus. Seconds later, he had disappeared from the room, leaving nothing behind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> notice how jaehwan left the future the same way he left the past.   
> tell me what you think!!   
> and if you had any questions, i have a curiouscat!! its curiouscat.me/vocalkingjaehwan


	11. 11 / END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT TOOK ME YEARS TO FINISH THIS IM SORRY  
> as usual, i've got spelling and grammar mistakes running around here.  
> thank you to everyone that's read this fic! it really means a lot to me. i've loved all the comments i have gotten and all of the feedback!

"Ready the guards and the first line of defense!" 

Dongho watched as the knights under his command lined themselves up in front of the castle.  Night had already fallen and the castle was on high alert due to the threat of a witch attack. The knights were standing with their weapons out and ready to use. Dongho, on the other hand, was on his horse behind all of them. He had about twenty soldiers lined up to protect the front of the castle.

"Will you be alright here, Dongho hyung?" 

The knight turned around to see Sewoon and Minki behind him. The witches had borrowed brooms from the servants of the castle and were flying around the castle, keeping an eye out for any random attacks. Even though Sewoon barely had control of his magic, he still had the ability to fly and protect. Minki was capable of strong attacks, but it would deplete his energy quickly.

"I'll be fine here, Sewoon. Just make sure that the south side of the castle is guarded well." Dongho said, taking his sword out of its sheath. He wanted to have his weapon ready, just in case a sudden attack came. 

"We'll check on you later." Minki said before flying off. Sewoon just smiled at Dongho before following after the other witch. Dongho watched the two witches fly off before turning back to the castle. He could see Daehwi staring out of his bedroom window. He waved at the prince and the youngest prince waved back in reply. 

"There's someone approaching!" A knight yelled, grabbing Dongho's attention. The knight was pointing towards the forest that was in front of the castle. Dongho could see someone walking slowly to the castle. 

"Wait here." Dongho said to his knights as he rode off towards the stranger that was walking towards the castle. As he got closer and closer, Dongho was able to see that it was a young man wearing strange clothes. It took Dongho a moment to recognize who it was.

"Prince Jaehwan, you've returned!"

Dongho rushed his horse over to the second prince and quickly dismounted once he was close enough. Jaehwan looked exhausted and seemed as if he was about to collapse. 

"Dongho... Bring me... to my brothers." Jaehwan said softly before losing consciousness. Luckily, Dongho was able to catch him in time before he hit the ground. The knight carefully placed Jaehwan onto his horse's back before climbing back on to his horse. 

"Open the gates! Prince Jaehwan has returned." Dongho yelled as he carefully rode his horse back over to the castle gates. The knights opened up the front gate leading into the castle and Dongho could see that Jonghyun was standing in the courtyard with Daniel and Jisung. 

"Dongho! Why are you ba- Prince Jaehwan?!"  

Jonghyun ran over to Dongho and helped Jaehwan off of the horse. Daniel hurried towards Dongho as well, assisting Jonghyun with carying Jaehwan.

"This is the missing prince?" Jisung asked as Daniel and Jonghyun carried the unconscious young man into the castle. Dongho was about to follow after them, but he knew that he had to keep guard at the front of the castle. 

"We need to get him to the king and the other princes soon. Let's meet inside of Prince Jaehwan's room." Jonghyun said, as he walked towards Jaehwan's room. It had been empty ever since the prince disappeared. No one dared to enter it.

"I'll go call the other princes." Jisung said before running off. He had been in the castle long enough to know where everyone's room was. 

As Jisung went off to get Seongwoo and Daehwi, Daniel and Jonghyun carried Jaehwan into his room. Daniel made sure to gently lay Jaehwan into his bed, just in case he was injured. 

"I can't believe he's finally back..." The royal advisor said softly as he looked over the prince's sleeping form. Jaehwan seemed to be uninjured and healthy. Jonghyun could tell that he definitely time travelled due to the strange clothes he was wearing. He was wearing similar clothes to what Minhyun was wearing when he fell out of the sky. 

"Hes wearing Minhyun's clothes... Does this mean Minhyun's back home?" Daniel said when he realized the prince was wearing Minhyun's clothes. Daniel could recognize Minhyun's clothes anywhere. 

"That's what it looks like to me. We need to figure out how to get you and Jisung back to the future now." Jonghyun sighed and took a seat at the end of Jaehwan's bed. He stared at the prince for a few moments before letting out a sharp yell.

"Where is Guanlin? Prince Jaehwan, wake up. Tell me where Guanlin is!" Jonghyun grabbed Jaehwan's collar, shaking him to wake him up. Daniel stood silently, not knowing what to do.

"Jonghyun! What are you doing?" Seongwoo said as he rushed in, pulling his advisor away from Jaehwan. He came running as soon as Jisung told him that his brother had returned.

"Jaehwan is back, but where is Guanlin? He's just a child. What if he's all alone somewhere?" Jonghyun yelled out, feeling concerned for the young servant. 

"He's not alone... I left him in the future with someone that can take care of him." Jaehwan said gently as he opened his eyes and sat up. He let out a soft groan and grabbed his forehead, feeling a headache overcome him.

"Who did you leave him with?" Seongwoo asked, feeling curious about what his brother had just been through. He had so many questions for Jaehwan, but he knew he had to wait until Jaehwan was ready.

"I left him with Minhyun hyung. You should have seen how happy he was there." Jaehwan replied, looking up at his door when he heard another person enter. He smiled when he saw Daehwi standing in the doorway, but the smile quickly faded when he saw Daehwi's bruised face.

"Daehwi, what happened to you?" Jaehwan said when the youngest prince ran over to give him a hug. His younger brother then started sobbing into his arms, leaving Jaehwan confused.

"What happened while I was gone?" The second prince continued on as he tried to calm Daehwi down. The youngest prince just continued to cry in his arms. 

"We found out the truth about my mother." Seongwoo said softly, looking away from his brothers. Daehwi only sobbed harder, still clinging onto Jaehwan.

"You finally found out the truth?" Jaehwan said, staring blankly at Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo's eyes widened when he heard what Jaehwan said. Daehwi also gasped and pulled away from the second prince, shocked at what he had just heard.

"You mean you knew about this all along?!" Seongwoo yelled, moving forward towards Jaehwan. Daehwi let out a shout and stood between his older brothers, trying to keep them apart.

"Seongwoo hyung! Please don't hurt Jaehwan hyung." Daehwi pleaded, not moving from his spot. Jaehwan gently pat his shoulder, letting out a sigh at Daehwi's attempt at protecting him.

"Prince Jaehwan, I think you owe us an explanation." Jonghyun said softly, frowning at the second prince. 

Jaehwan nodded his head slowly before speaking, "Mother told me the truth right before she died. She felt guilty because of all she had done and also because she felt as if she took away my rightful place at the throne. She told me all about how she actually kidnapped Seongwoo hyung." 

"So, for all these years you've been keeping this a secret? Why didn’t you say anything?" Seongwoo said through gritted teeth. He could feel his anger growing, which also meant his magic was spiking up.

"How could I say anything?! Can you imagine the scandal it would cause? I would end up taking away your place at the throne and mother's reputation would be tarnished!" Jaehwan defended with tears forming in his eyes. 

"Well, you can take your place at the throne now.  _Your_  father will no longer let me become king." Seongwoo said, looking away. Daniel frowned at the prince before patting his back softly. 

"Since you're mother's first-born, does this mean you have magic abilities?" Daehwi asked as soon as he calmed down. 

"Yes, that's right. That's how I was able to bring Minhyun hyung back to his own time. Ah, maybe I should show you how he is doing." The second prince said, taking something out of his pocket. Everyone stared as he took out the mirror, curious about what he was going to do with it.

Jaehwan chanted softly while holding onto the mirror's handle with both of his hands. The mirror glowed a soft light before it revealed something.

"Wait, the mirror is glowing!” A voice called out from the mirror. Jisung blinked in surprise when he recognized the voice. 

“Minhyun! Are you alright?” Jisung rushed forward towards Jaehwan, who handed him the mirror. 

Jisung stared into the mirror and was amazed when he saw his brother’s face. Minhyun smiled through the mirror at his older brother. 

“I want to see Minhyun too!” Daniel made his way over to Jisung, standing behind him so that he could also see Minhyun in the mirror. 

“Daniel?! What are you doing there?!” Minhyun exclaimed when Daniel came into view.

“Your cousin ended up bringing me to the past with Jisung to find you.” Daniel explained as he smiled at his friend. 

“You guys went to the past to find me? Where’s Minki now?” Minhyun asked.

“He’s flying around the castle with another witch. There might be an attack on the castle here, so everyone is on high alert.” Jisung replied, frowning slightly. Even though he was from the future, he was still concerned about what would happen to the people in the past. 

"Is it alright if I speak to Jaehwan for a moment?" Minhyun asked his brother, who then returned the mirror back to the second prince.

"Hello Minhyun hyung." Jaehwan smiled nervously when he faced Minhyun through the mirror.

"What were you thinking?! I can't believe you left Guanlin behind here. He's been crying all day." Minhyun wasn't yelling, but he definitely raised his voice at the prince. 

"You saw how happy he was there! He has a chance to live a real life there with you. If he came back with me, he would go back to just being a servant." Jaehwan explained as he tried to avoid eye contact with Minhyun.

"How are you going to bring Jisung and Daniel back here?" Minhyun asked, still needing answers to everything. 

"I’ll send them back the same way I came back here. I'll send them back soon, I promise." Jaehwan replied before chanting to himself softly. The mirror glowed softly and Minhyun's face disappeared. After a few moments, Jaehwan was facing his own reflection.

"How are you going to send us back? You look exhausted." Daniel asked.

"I can help him. My magic may be a witch's magic, but it can still help Jaehwan." Seongwoo stepped forward, nodding his head over to Daniel and Jisung. 

"We can help too." 

Everyone turned and saw Minki and Sewoon entering the room, both holding onto the brooms they were riding earlier. The witches bowed their heads towards Jaehwan in respect. 

"Four people will magic abilities is definitely enough to send you guys back home. We should send you home before anything happens." Jaehwan said, trying to get out of his bed. Daehwi quickly pushed him back, not letting him get up.

"You look exhausted, Jaehwan hyung. I think you should rest first before you try using magic again." Daehwi said. He was worried that Jaehwan would collapse in the middle of using a spell. He still looked exhausted. 

"Since we already know Minhyun is safe in the future, I don't mind waiting one more night to return home. Thank you for bringing him back, Prince Jaehwan." Jisung smiled over at Jaehwan, nodding his head. Daniel nodded as well, not minding the delay in his return home. 

"Let's rest for the night then. Jaehwan needs his rest to recover his magic. I'll see you all in the morning." Seongwoo left the room with Jonghyun following close behind him. 

Jaehwan watched as everyone slowly left the room. The youngest prince hesitated for a moment when he was walking towards the door, but he smiled at the second prince before leaving.

As Jaehwan lay in his bed, he kept staring at the silver mirror. He grabbed the handle and chanted softly, causing the mirror to glow. His reflection then changed to show Minhyun's apartment in the future. 

"Guanlin, you'll be fine here. Don't worry."

"But Prince Jaehwan left me behind! What am I going to do? How am I going to live here?"

"You can live with me and my brother. Seonho can also help you here in the future. I'll try to figure things out."

The second prince sighed as he eavesdropped on the conversation happening in the future. His concentration lost focus and the connection through the mirror was lost. Jaehwan sighed once more and tried his best to fall asleep.

He was finally back home where he belonged, but there was a strange ominous feeling overwhelming him.

X

Minhyun thought that returning to the future would be the end of his problems. He was safe and sound in his own home, but now he had so many more questions. 

Why did Jaehwan leave Guanlin behind? 

Why did Jaehwan leave without saying goodbye?

When Minhyun woke up earlier that morning, he knew he had slept alone. He had expected Jaehwan to be next to him, but sadly enough, the space was empty. He had searched all throughout the apartment for Jaehwan, but the only thing that he could find was a short note that he had left behind.

_Dear_ _Minhyun_ _hyung_ _,_

_Thank you for taking care of_ _Guanlin_ _and I during our short stay here in the future. I really appreciate all you have done for us. But most of all, I'm sincerely sorry for dragging you into this mess. I know you may think I'm careless for leaving_ _Guanlin_ _behind, but it's for the best. He deserves a real life and I can't give him one here in the past._

_I'll always remember you and your laugh. I thought it was really charming. Everything about you was charming._

_When you wake up, I'll already be gone._

_Thank you for everything._

_Sincerely,_

_Jaehwan_

Minhyun nearly threw the note away when he first read it, feeling furious at the prince's sudden decision. When he broke the news to Guanlin, the young boy was in serious shock. It took him a few moments to digest all of the information before he burst into tears in Seonho's arms. It broke Minhyun's heart to see him like that.

After Jaehwan's sudden call through the mirror, Guanlin had managed to calm down. It would take the young boy months to adjust to the future, but Minhyun believed he would be just fine. With Minki back in the past, Minhyun and Jisung had enough room in their apartment for Guanlin.

Even though he was back home in the future, Minhyun was still somewhat concerned over what was going to happen in the past. Jaehwan had told him about the impending attack on his kingdom and Minhyun was worried about the prince's safety.

"He'll be fine... I know he will be." Minhyun said, trying to reassure himself. 

Minhyun had faith in Jaehwan, but he wasn't sure if faith was enough to guarantee the prince's safety.

X

"Are you sure we'll be able to get back home?"

"Jisung hyung, for the seventh time, yes! You need to believe in us." 

Daniel just laughed as Minki tried to calm Jisung down. Everyone, except the three princes, were in the throne room of the castle, getting ready to send Daniel and Jisung back home. Minki had already decided that he had to stay back in the past because Jonghyun had offered him a position as the royal family's magical advisor. Daniel knew that it was an excuse to keep Minki from leaving again. 

"Don't we need some sort of silver to bring us back home? You used Daniel's wrist watch last time." Jisung said, directing his attention back over to Minki. 

"You're right. But Daniel's watch disintegrated when we traveled to the past." Minki said.

Before Jisung had a chance to reply, the three princes walked in wearing their royal attire. They were all wearing similar outfits, white pants with a blue long sleeve jacket. The only exception was Seongwoo, whose outfit included a white cape attached to his jacket. Daniel smiled at the oldest prince when he walked in. 

"Fancy clothes." Minki noted when the princes walked in.

"We're going to try to reason with the witches if they attack today, so we should at least try to look our roles." Seongwoo replied, stepping towards Daniel and Jisung.

"It was nice meeting you both. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused while you were here. If you ever accidentally time travel to this time period, you can always stay here at the castle." Seongwoo continued on, smiling at both Daniel and Jisung. He reached his hand out for a handshake and Daniel grabbed it, giving it a firm shake.

"I hope everything works out for you, in the end." Daniel said softly before pulling his hand away. Jisung also shook the prince's hand, thanking him for taking them in.

"I believe this belongs to you." Seongwoo said, reaching into his pocket to grab something. Jisung's eyes widened when he was handed a familiar silver pocket watch. 

Jisung smiled at the prince and kept the pocket watch in his hands. The pocket watch would be able to get them both home. 

"Alright, Jisung hyung and Daniel hyung, please go stand in the center of the room. We'll get started now." Minki said softly. Sewoon was standing across from him on the other side of the room. Jaehwan walked towards the other side of the room as well to stand across from Seongwoo.

Daniel and Jisung stood in the center of the room, both feeling extremely nervous. They weren't sure what to expect. 

"Goodbye, Minki. I'll miss you." Jisung said, facing the witch. Minki smiled back, nodding his head.

"Thank you for taking care of me when I was there. Sorry I had to lie about how I was actually related to you." Minki replied softly. 

Daehwi stood off to the side of the room with Jonghyun, Woojin, and Dongho by his side. This would be the first time any of them would see someone time traveling.

"Will they be alright, Jonghyun hyung?" Woojin asked the royal advisor. 

"They'll get home safely. I can feel it." Jonghyun said, his gaze lingering on Minki. He knew the witch's capability with magic, but that didn't stop him from being somewhat concerned.

"Let's get started." Minki called out before clapping his hands together. Sewoon, Seongwoo, and Jaehwan all clapped their hands together as well. 

The four magic users then started to chant in unison with each other. Everyone had their eyes closed in concentration except for Minki, who kept staring at Jisung and Daniel. After a moment, a soft light began to cover Jisung and Daniel's bodies and soon after that, they were gone.

Sewoon immediately collapsed onto his knees once he was finished chanting. His magic capabilities weren't that high for a witch, so he had used up most of his energy. Minki rushed over to him to make sure he was okay.

"I'm going to go take Sewoon to my room. He can rest there." Dongho said as he stepped forward to help Sewoon off the ground. Daehwi frowned but said nothing as the knight and witch left the room. Both Jaehwan and Seongwoo were breathing heavily, but besides that, they seemed to be fine.

"Prince Seongwoo, we need to meet your father in his chambers. He's expecting you and your brothers." Jonghyun made his way over to the oldest prince, who sighed in reply.

"Alright. We can get going there now. Minki, if you don't mind, can you fly around the castle just in case?" Seongwoo said as he glanced at the witch. Minki nodded silently and left the room in search of a broom to use.

The princes then left the room as well, making their way over to their father's private chambers. The king was informed early in the morning that Jaehwan had returned and he immediately requested their presence. 

Woojin and Jonghyun followed behind the princes even though they both knew that they wouldn't be allowed into the king's private chambers. Jaehwan was silent as he walked with his brothers, not knowing what to expect from this sudden family meeting. He was sure that his father was going to discuss who the real heir of the throne would be. 

Jaehwan wanted his rightful place at the throne, but he also knew that Seongwoo wouldn't give up without a fight. Seongwoo was raised to be king and he also had the right to take the throne.

"Please don't fight with father." Daehwi mumbled softly to his brothers. He was walking between them, feeling a bit awkward at the strange tension happening.

"We won't, Daehwi." Seongwoo said, patting the youngest prince's head.

"And no matter what, you're still my brother Seongwoo hyung. I don't care if you're a witch.” Daehwi smiled at his brother before giving him a quick hug. Seongwoo smiled and wrapped his arms around the youngest prince, returning the hug. 

“Thank you.” 

Once the two separated from each other, Jaehwan knocked on his father’s door. The king let out a loud cough, signaling the three princes to enter. Jonghyun and Woojin opened the double doors into the king’s private chambers. They both kept their heads bowed down in respect for the king. 

The princes entered the room and their servants closed the door behind them. The king was also wearing his royal attire. He had a very solemn expression on his face, which worried Seongwoo. 

“Now you all know about Seongwoo’s true heritage. He’s a witch and he’s not the first born, which means that he shouldn’t be the heir to the throne.” 

Seongwoo frowned, but he knew better than to interrupt the king when he was speaking. 

The king sighed before continuing on, “Jaehwan, on the other hand, is the true first born of this family. He deserves his place at the throne. I know you haven’t had proper lessons about the duties of a king, but you can always catch up before you become king.”

“Father, you must be kidding.”

Jaehwan and Seongwoo turned to the youngest prince, shocked that he would speak up to their father. Daehwi stepped forward with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What are you doing Daehwi?" Seongwoo hissed out as he grabbed the prince's arm, pulling him back. Daehwi winced at the pain but pulled his arm away from his brother.

"The entire kingdom adores Seongwoo hyung, can you imagine the scandal that would happen if the people found out he was a witch? There would be chaos in the kingdom." Daehwi reasoned out to his father, who just frowned back at his son.

Before the king had a chance to respond, thunder rumbled off in the distance. Jaehwan quickly moved towards a window, seeing that the sky was clear and sunny. He let out a soft curse when he realized what was about to happen.

"We need to get to the courtyard. The witches are coming."

X

Seonho stared into Minhyun's fridge, trying to decide what to eat as a snack. Guanlin was resting on the couch, watching television with Minhyun. He still had a lot of adjusting to do, but Seonho didn't want to pressure him. 

After a few minutes of searching, Seonho grabbed some yogurt for him and Guanlin to eat. Seonho wanted to teach Guanlin about all of the different foods of the future and yogurt was a good place to start. 

As Seonho walked back over to where Guanlin was sitting on the couch, a bright light flashed before him. He closed his eyes, feeling blinded by the light for a short moment. When his eyes opened, Jisung and Daniel were standing right in front of him. They both gasping for air as they collapsed onto the floor.

"Jisung hyung! Daniel hyung!" Seonho gasped and rushed over to check if they were okay. 

From the other room, Minhyun was able to see the bright light flash in the kitchen and he immediately knew that his brother had returned with Daniel.

"Are you guys alright?!" Minhyun asked when he helped Jisung off the ground. His brother gave him a tight hug and didn't let go. 

"I was so worried for you! I can't believe you're actually home. Minki took us to the past to look for you, but so many things happened so we never had the chance to find you. I'm so sorry." Jisung cried into Minhyun's shoulder, feeling thankful for his safe return. Daniel wrapped his arms around both Jisung and Minhyun, joining the hug.

"Man, I'm happy to be back home. I kind of wish we could have stayed in the past for a few more days. It was interesting there." Daniel pouted his lips a bit, causing Jisung to punch his shoulder.

"Yeah, don’t act like you weren't totally flirting with Prince Seongwoo. I saw you." 

"You were flirting with Prince Seongwoo? I can't believe you." Minhyun laughed at his best friend, not even surprised at his actions.

"I wasn't flirting! I was just nice. Shut up." Daniel blushed and made his way over to the fridge, getting something to drink.

"Who are these people?" Guanlin asked as he stepped into the kitchen. Minhyun took his hand and brought him over to introduce him to Jisung and Daniel.

"Guanlin, this is my brother Jisung and the other guy is my best friend, Daniel. You'll be seeing them around here a lot." Minhyun said. Guanlin bowed as he was introduced. 

"My name is Guanlin. I came from the past and I was Prince Jaehwan's servant. Thank you for taking me in." 

Seonho watched from the side as everyone got acquainted with each other. Even though Guanlin was still heartbroken about being left behind by Jaehwan, Seonho was sure that he would fit right in with everyone in the future. 

"Is everything alright in the future?" Minhyun asked, feeling concerned for Jaehwan and Minki.

"I'm not sure. They were preparing for an attack by the witches when we left. Can't you use your mirror to communicate with Prince Jaehwan?" Daniel said, thinking back to what Seongwoo had told him.

"I'm a witch, but I can't use magic at all. Jaehwan's the one that has control over the mirrors." Minhyun said as he glanced at the mirror that he had left on the couch. He was keeping it close to him just in case Jaehwan was going to call again.

 "I hope Prince Jaehwan is alright." Guanlin said softly. Minhyun gently pat his head, smiling a bit.

"I'm sure Jaehwan is doing fine. I'm sure all of the royal family is doing fine."

X

Rain was pouring down hard and thunder was rumbling loud in the sky.  The sky was getting darker and darker by the minute, but it was obvious that this storm was created by magic. The storm was only above the castle and everyone could see that the sky was clear at a distance.

"Where are they?" Seongwoo couldn’t see clearly through the downpour, but he could feel a magical presence. 

"I can feel them. I just can't see them." Jaehwan replied, looking up towards the sky. 

Minki and Sewoon were trying their best to fly around on their brooms through the rain. Everyone was already soaking went from the rain, but that did not stop them from staying outside. A loud crack of thunder tore through the sky and Jaehwan could feel the magic around them spiking up.

"They're here!" Both Minki and Jaehwan yelled out. 

Dongho and his knights readied themselves as they anticipated an attack. However, rather than an attack, everyone could see about five witches flying in close. They were all riding on what seemed to be normal brooms and they were wearing black robes with hoods. Their faces were completely covered by their hoods, keeping their identities a secret. 

Minki and Sewoon flew in close to the princes, just in case they needed protection from a magic attack. The king was standing in front of his sons with a solemn look on his face. The five witches jumped off their brooms and landed several feet away from the king. 

"Reveal yourselves." The king called out through the rain.

The five witches took their hoods off and revealed their faces. Seongwoo was shocked to see a man leading the group. There were two young men and two young women by his sides as well.

"It's nice to meet you, your highness." The man smirked over at royal family before his eyes landed on Seongwoo.

"Ah, and there's the brat that killed my wife. I could remember your face anywhere." 

Seongwoo's eyes widened when he realized that the man before him was his very own father. He tried to get a better look at the man, but the rain was ruining his vision. Seongwoo could tell by the witch's tone that he had no idea Seongwoo was his son.

Then the rain started to pour even faster and it was getting harder and harder to keep the witches in sight. Jaehwan tried to concentrate his magic into eyes, but he couldn’t focus because of the sound of thunder rumbling around them.

"This storm is messing with my magic." Minki let out a frustrated grunt as he glared at the witches across from him. Their magic ability was on another level and they were extremely dangerous.

"What do you witches want?" Seongwoo yelled through the rain. 

"What I want is simple. I want you all dead. However, I'd be willing to make an exchange." The man said, taking a few steps closer to the king. Dongho took a step forward with his sword out, ready to attack if anything went wrong.

"And what's this exchange?" The king asked, taking a step further as well.

"Father!" Daehwi shouted out, worried about what his father was about to do. Woojin grabbed his arm to prevent him from moving any forward.

"Give me the prince who killed my wife and I'll spare your family." 

Seongwoo's heart sunk when he heard what the witch demanded. He could feel his brother's staring at him, but he said nothing. 

"Why would you want Prince Seongwoo?" This time Jonghyun was the one that called out. It was his job as Seongwoo's advisor to keep him safe and that meant he couldn’t let Seongwoo go.

"Don't worry, we won't rough him up too much. I guess you could say we just need another slave to kick around." The witch smirked and snapped his fingers, causing the ground beneath everyone to shake. Minki and Sewoon tried to use their brooms to fly, but the other witches were using the magic to keep them grounded.

The extreme shaking caused everyone to fall to the ground. The king tried his best to stand up, but he didn't have any strength left in him. Jaehwan crawled over to his father and helped him sit up.

"It this shaking continues, the castle will collapse!" Dongho yelled out to the princes. The castle was shaking behind him and everyone could hear the servants screaming inside. 

Seongwoo looked back and forth between the witches and his family. He knew that the only way to save everyone was to surrender himself to the witches, but he was still terrified at what would happen. 

"I have to go with them." Seongwoo said to Jaehwan, who quickly shook his head.

"Hyung, you don't have to go with them! We can reason with them." Jaehwan yelled out as thunder rumbled in the sky above. 

"Do not give into them, Seongwoo. You were raised better than this." The king said, but Seongwoo just smiled at him in reply. 

"You don't want me on the throne. So what else can I do?" Seongwoo said as he concentrated his magic into his feet so that he would be able to stand through the constant shaking. The witch let out a haughty laugh when he saw Seongwoo standing up.

"Perfect. Come here, young man." The witch snapped his fingers again, causing the ground to stop shaking. The rain was still pouring down, but Jaehwan could see through the downpour that Seongwoo was making his way over to the witches.

"Hyung! What are you doing?! Come back!" Daehwi cried out as his brother walked away from him.

Dongho quickly stood up and blocked Seongwoo's path. He unsheathed his sword and pointed it straight at the prince.

"Dongho. Move." Seongwoo commanded, staring the knight down. Dongho shook his head and kept his sword raised.

"I'm not about to let you do this. You're staying here with us." Dongho said softly. Even though things have been rough for the two of them, Dongho knew how much Seongwoo meant to everyone. He was looked up to by his brothers and by the people of the kingdom. If he was gone, life wouldn't be the same.

"I'm sorry, Dongho." Seongwoo clapped his hands together and chanted softly. Dongho's eyes widened when he lost sensation in his legs, causing him to fall onto his knees. The knight tried to stand up, but there was a crushing weight on his shoulders. 

"Prince Seongwoo, get back here!" Jonghyun stood up and ran over to the prince, grabbing him by his shoulders. Seongwoo turned around and smiled sadly at his royal assistant.

"Thank you for everything, Jonghyun. Take care of Jaehwan and Daehwi for me, okay? I know I can trust you." Seongwoo opened his arms and gave Jonghyun a short hug. Jonghyun had tears in his eyes that blended with the rain that was still falling from the sky. Seongwoo smiled once more and turned his back to make his way back over to the witches. 

"You're a smart kid. You've made the right choice by coming with us." The witch smirked at Seongwoo when he was only a few steps away. Seongwoo said nothing and just looked at the ground.

"Now turn around and say goodbye to your family and friends. You'll never be seeing them again." The witch continued on, still smirking at Seongwoo. 

The prince turned around once more to face his family and friends. He smiled brightly over at them through the rain and he waved goodbye. Daehwi was sobbing into Woojin's arms, Jonghyun couldn't stop his tears, and Jaehwan was simply holding onto the king with an unreadable expression on his face. The king was frowning, but Seongwoo couldn't tell if he was crying because of how hard it was raining. 

Seongwoo bowed towards everyone, feeling thankful for everyone's love. He had lived a fantastic life as a prince. Even though everything was a lie, Seongwoo still loved his family greatly. 

"Goodbye, Prince Seongwoo."

Seongwoo gasped as he suddenly felt pain spreading throughout his chest. He glanced down and saw that a sword had pierced right through him. Seongwoo could hear Jonghyun scream his name before his vision faded. 

"No, no, no, this can't be happening." Jaehwan left his father's side and ran over to Seongwoo. He knelt beside his brother and pulled him into his lap. 

"Congratulations, Prince Jaehwan. You'll be king." The witches climbed onto their brooms and flew off before anyone had the chance to say anything from them. As soon as the witches flew off, the storm above them cleared up and the sun was shining down on them.

"I'm following them." Minki said as he flew off after them. Sewoon followed after Minki as well, trailing after the witches.

Jonghyun and Daehwi ran over to Seongwoo's bleeding body. The wound in his chest as too big for Jaehwan to handle. He applied pressure on the wound, but Seongwoo had already lost too much blood.

"I'm s-so sorry." Seongwoo whispered as he gasped for air. Jaehwan tried to wipe his tears away, but they wouldnt stop falling.

"Stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong." Jonghyun knelt down next to Seongwoo and tried his best to smile at the prince. Seongwoo's skin was beginning to become pale and his body was losing its temperature. 

"Hyung, I love you. You were the best brother I could ever ask for and I'm sorry for being an annoying kid. I love you so much." Daehwi cried out. His tears were falling onto Seongwoo's face, but Seongwoo just smiled at the youngest prince. 

"I love you too, Daehwi."

With Woojin and Dongho's help, the king made his way over to Seongwoo's body. He knelt down and gently pat Seongwoo's head, with tears forming in his eyes. 

"I'm so sorry, Seongwoo. I wish I could have been a better father to you." The king said softly. Seongwoo just chuckled and shook his head.

"Father, I still love you despite all the lies. Thank you for raising me as your own, I know it must have been hard." Seongwoo coughed up some blood as he spoke, but Jaehwan quickly wiped it away.

"Take care of the kingdom, Jaehwan. I know you'll do just fine." Seongwoo smiled at Jaehwan as his eyes slowly began to close. Jaehwan panicked and tried to keep his brother's eyes open by shaking him. However, Seongwoo gave no response to the shaking. 

Seongwoo's body became extremely still and his skin became pale. Jaehwan checked to see if he was breathing, but he couldn’t feel anything. Jaehwan stared up into the clear sky with tears falling from his eyes. The sun was shining brightly and a rainbow had formed above them due to the rain that had occurred earlier. Jaehwan knew that Seongwoo would have loved to see the rainbow.

"I love you, Seongwoo hyung. Thank you for everything." 

X

**EPILOUGE**

"Guanlin, put your uniform on!"

"I forgot how to tie the tie!"

Minhyun sighed as he heard Jisung rushing Guanlin early in the morning. It had been seven months since Guanlin had started to live in the future and Jisung had managed to enroll him in the same high school that Minki and Seonho had attended. Strangely enough, no one at the school had any memories of Minki besides Seonho. 

"Minhyun, please show Guanlin how to tie his tie." Jisung pushed Guanlin into the kitchen towards him. Minhyun smiled and stood up from the table, helping the high schooler with his uniform. 

"How's school so far? You're not falling behind, are you?" Minhyun asked as he finished tying the tie. 

"It's alright. Seonho helps me out a lot and the other students think I've lived abroad, so they all help me out if I ask." Guanlin smiled and reached over to take a piece of toast from Minhyun's plate. 

"Seongho's probably waiting for you downstairs. Have a nice day at school." Minhyun smiled at Guanlin and the former servant bowed his head before leaving. He still had a few old habits from when he was a servant, but they were mostly polite actions such as bowing and cleaning up.

"I'm going to be late. We really need to teach Guanlin how to iron his own clothes." Jisung sighed and walked into the kitchen, taking the last piece of toast from Minhyun's plate. Minhyun stared at his empty plate and sighed.

Jisung left for work shortly after finishing breakfast, leaving Minhyun alone in the apartment. He didn't have class for a few more hours, so he could stay at home for a bit more. 

The last few months had been hectic due to the fact that Guanlin was still adjusting to the future. He was a smart teenager and was able to handle school easily. However, he seemed to lack common sense about everything else. Jisung and Minhyun tried to teach him how to do chores, but after an unfortunate vacuuming accident, the teenager avoided chores requiring technology.

Minhyun was also unable to contact Jaehwan through the mirror during the last seven. The prince never tried to reach out to him as well, which made Minhyun think that he was probably already forgotten. Minhyun thought of Jaehwan every day, wondering if things in the past had gone well. He had tried to concentrate his magic, but since he didn't have proper training, his magic was practically useless. 

Minhyun walked into his room to grab his backpack, but for some reason, he felt the need to stare into the silver mirror again. He had left the mirror on his desk, just in case Jaehwan would contact him.

The mirror was left on his desk next to the note Jaehwan had left him when he left. With a small smile on his face, Minhyun picked up the mirror and stared into his reflection. After a few moments, the mirror began to glow and Minhyun's eyes widened. He kept staring at his reflection in the mirror before it faded away to reveal someone else.

"Hello, Minhyun hyung. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too, Jaehwan."

X

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello,, i hope the ending wasn't too horrible?  
> a spinoff of guanlin's life in the future is in the works right now! be on the lookout for that.
> 
> thank you thank you thank you for reading! comment below and tell me what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on twitter! @/093LINE  
> 071217 UPDATE: my twitter un is now @/nuestology


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